Directed Attention

Directed attention is the mental process of intentionally focusing your awareness on a specific task, object, or set of information while ignoring distractions. It involves actively choosing where to direct cognitive resources, enabling you to concentrate deeply and efficiently on what’s important. This process helps improve problem-solving, learning, and performance by filtering out irrelevant stimuli and maintaining focus on your goals. Essentially, directed attention is your brain’s way of prioritizing and managing attention to optimize focus and effectiveness in different situations.