...placed on a single means of securing attention. You will recall the statement of William James that "there is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time." With the same thought in mind, Dr. James R. Angell says that "to retain our attention for any considerable...

...thought related to it, and concentration is the power of swiftly returning to the original thought. "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained...attention is a repetition of successive efforts which brings back the topic to the mind." Thus it appears that mind-wandering is not so much a tendency to...

...History of the Engl. People.) § 13. Another point requiring consideration is the duration of attention. There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained...successive efforts which bring back the topic to the mind. (James loc. cit. p. 420.) In "the glass is falling" the impression is due to two observations or three...

...the whole, the complete, the final, the regular, the end, the last word. While as James points out there is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time, enthusiasm will ensure that constant repetition which can wear away a stone. That's why we always feel...

...captures and holds our attention and common sense here is amply reinforced by the science of psychology. "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time" says William James.17 "What is called sustained voluntary attention is a repetition of successive efforts...

...a stimulating adventure. The average person rarely enjoys sustained attention of his own creation. "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time," says William James, adding a bit later that: "The object must change. When it is one of sight, it will...

...then it either disappears or takes on qualities of motion, colors, or some other imagined elements. "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time," says Professor James. 2 In working upon reaction times Professor Cattell tried delaying the signal...

...conscious of the words of Professor James, which are especially true in the case of the young child: "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time; voluntary attention is a repetition of successive efforts which bring back the topic to the mind.''...

...absorbed in the object, event or idea. James, on the other hand, contended 'there is no such thing as ... attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time. What is called sustained . . . attention is a repetition of successive efforts which bring back the topic to mind' (p. 240)....

...than by William James (1890, vol. 1, p. 420). He was convinced that attention is a fleeting activity: "There is no such thing as voluntary attention sustained...successive efforts which bring back the topic to the mind." What seems to help the sustaining of attention is in the stimulus itself. "No one can possibly attend...