A belated thanks for this link (I've been away at a conference). It seems to me 
that the concept of "attention span" deserves our critical attention in class 
simply because there are popular assumptions about it that are clearly grounded 
in anecdote and reasoning ("kids' attention spans are getting shorter", "kids' 
shorter attention spans are due to TV watching and video game playing", "our 
attention span is 30 seconds, because that's how long commercials are", etc.). 

On the flip side, it looks as though I may have been overly critical of the 
notion of individual difference in attention span. 

Paul Smith
Alverno College
Milwaukee


-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Goff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tue 9/27/2005 8:34 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
Subject: RE: adult attention span cross-posting with psychteach
 
Ah serendipity! Here is a link to an MSNBC report on Michael Posner's
work on increasing attention span in preschool children
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9500674/. I have not read the original
report of this work (don't have access to the current issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), but judging from the
news report it should provide a good starting point for looking into
individual differences in attention span and development of this
function.

Dennis

Dennis M. Goff
Professor of Psychology
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
[EMAIL PROTECTED]



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