Research results that ``losing concentration'' may be important in learning
'Concentration' is important for learning things and performing tasks, and various methods have been devised to keep concentration. However, research results have been announced that losing concentration in learning is not always a bad thing, and sometimes losing concentration may boost learning.
Pay attention and you might miss it: Greater learning during attentional lapses | SpringerLink
Losing Focus May Actually Boost Learning, Study Finds : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/losing-focus-may-actually-boost-learning-study-finds
We know that getting into a flow state of deep immersion is important for learning and performing tasks, but some say that distraction is also necessary for creative activities. Several studies have shown that people with high impulsivity and low cognitive control are better at learning relationships between seemingly irrelevant information they are told to ignore. .
Therefore, a research team led by Alexandra Decker, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), conducted an experiment to see if losing concentration benefits learning.
The research team targeted 53 university students, ignoring the ones at both ends (flanker) of the multiple symbols displayed on the computer, focusing only on the symbols and numbers (targets) displayed in the center and classifying them. I had them do a task called the flanker task . Then, we recorded the variation in the reaction time of the students working on the task and measured when they lost their concentration. In fact, in this task, there was a hidden regularity in the target of attention and the flanker placed to distract.
Analysis of the experimental results revealed that people who lost focus during the task actually responded faster and more accurately. This is believed to be because the loss of concentration focused attention on the flankers around the target and allowed them to learn hidden regularities. ``People who learned the most target-flanker pairs were 'out of the zone' with less attention more frequently,'' the research team said in a paper. increase.
Decker tweeted, 'Our findings suggest that a little distraction may be a good thing at times. , may be best overall.” “Concentration allows you to narrow your goals, but losing focus widens your attention span and allows you to take in less relevant information. It can learn regularities in the environment and integrate ideas and concepts that are far apart.'
Whereas focusing helps us narrow in on our goals, losing some focus can expand the scope of attention, helping us to incorporate less relevant information, which could help us learn regularities in our environment or even integrate distant ideas or concepts.
— Alexandra (Lexi) Decker (@LexiDecker3) January 12, 2023
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