Social attention is the focus on an individual or group in a mixed environment, and is important in human interaction. Gaze and body language are key elements, and social attention can also be seen in virtual spaces. Disabilities affecting cognition can impact social attention, but early intervention can help develop cognitive skills.
Social attention is the focus of cognitive processes on an individual or group in a mixed environment. In a simple example, a person at a cocktail party who stops to have a conversation shows social attention. This plays an important role in human interaction. People with cognitive and neurological impairments may be unable to engage in complex social tasks or may have difficulty with sustained attention tasks such as listening to a teacher during an hour-long lecture.
Gaze is one of the most important elements of social attention. Refocusing your gaze on an object or person of interest activates a complex neural network. Body language may also be involved; the speaker at the cocktail party, for example, may direct his head and body towards the interlocutor, indicating interest and a desire to continue the conversation. Other senses such as hearing can be activated to process information once the brain directs attention to a specific topic.
This is not only seen in real-world environments where people physically interact. A form of social attention can also be seen in virtual spaces in the form of visits to a website, indicating public interest or comments and ratings on content. These more abstract forms may still involve some of the same cognitive processes where people decide where they want to focus their attention and how much it should be sustained. Social cues such as avatars to identify speakers also help people interact in virtual spaces.
Humans respond to attention as well as direct it. People who feel unattractive may feel distress or irritation, such as when a teacher gets frustrated with students gossiping in the back of a classroom. Attention is also a form of cognitive reward that can encourage people to repeat behaviors in the future for similar rewards. A dancer expects audience attention during a performance, not just applause at the end, and she is more likely to continue pursuing dance when the audience engages and participates.
Some disabilities that affect cognition can affect social attention. People with these disabilities may have difficulty with tasks such as focusing their gaze on goals or using body language that indicates they are interested. It can also be difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time. People may fidget, look away, or engage in other tasks as their minds wander. Studies on social attention suggest that early intervention can help people develop cognitive skills to direct and sustain attention.
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