Scientists say loss of awareness promotes learning and idea generation

The ability to make connections between broad concepts or to generate a flurry of new ideas (called divergent thinking) are two aspects of creativity that scientists can measure. But Science Alert writes that being able to focus while ignoring distractions is also key to learning new skills, developing new ideas, or finding a “state of endless enthusiasm” or “state of flow.”

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“While focusing helps us narrow our goals, losing some can broaden our focus, helping us to include less relevant information that can help us learn patterns in our environment and even integrate distant ideas or concepts,” Alexandra explains. Neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who led the study.

Attention deficit has been found to impair everything from basic perception to learning and memory. Distractions arise and we lose our attention. This won’t be news for those who fell asleep in class and missed important new material. But no matter how hard we try, our attention naturally fluctuates. While some research suggests that interrupted attention is a sign that our brain is overloaded, another theory states that a loss of focus can occur when a task becomes too monotonous. This can lead to some unexpected benefits. Our brains can turn inward and immerse themselves in their own thoughts, exist in a happy, “meaningless” state, or start looking for other bits of information to digest, which can aid learning.

That’s what Decker wanted to learn: where our minds go when distracted, and whether losing focus is sometimes beneficial for learning. He followed up with studies showing that people with higher impulsivity and lower cognitive control, such as young adults and children, were better at learning and reinforcing connections between seemingly unrelated bits of information they were told to ignore.

In a new study by Decker, a group of 53 undergraduates was tasked with classifying letters and numbers that appear on a computer screen surrounded by distracting symbols that they were told to ignore. People’s attention fluctuated as expected and was out of focus. The researchers observed this using a technique that detects fluctuations in attention based on individual reaction times. In moments of loss of focus, people’s attention expanded, allowing them to perceive symbols that actually matched the appearance of a letter or number – essentially diverting their brain resources to what’s on the screen with an added cue. People who lost their focus more often actually got faster and more accurate answers, indicating better learning of patterns encoded with symbols.

“People who learned the most target-wing pairs were in a lower attentional, i.e., ‘out of the zone’ state, than those who learned less,” the researchers write. What’s more, when they carefully observed the individual participants, they found that learning was more pronounced during the focus breaks.

“Our results show that a slight loss of awareness can sometimes be positive. But switching between periods of focus and less focus may be a better option overall,” Decker wrote. Of course, these lab experiments so far only paint superficially how our brains record or prioritize environmental information in the real world, a much more complex environment than a computer room.

However, the results of the current study are consistent with a growing number of other studies that set aside the negative vibrations around the wandering mind and daydreaming. Past research has found that for many people, letting their minds wander after a period of sustained focus can help reinvigorate their creative side. However, it is important to find a happy medium of interaction to activate the creative areas of the brain: too much effort and too little attention to new ideas; there is not enough incentive and the task becomes boring.

Attention is an unstable thing. Past research has shown that our brain shifts focus four times per second, as if scanning its surroundings for other stimuli it might need to register. It’s a useful skill for being alert to potential dangers, but it’s also a pattern of activity that is easily mastered in a world full of distractions. Perhaps it is our intention that matters: whether we give our brain some freedom to roam, seeking out new connections or ideas in unexpected places – for example, suffocating and numbing it during a hot shower or against the background of many blurry monitor screens.

Previously Focus He wrote about the “cloud mind”. It can result from mild structural or functional damage to an area of ​​the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive processes such as planning and decision making.