Introduction
The concentration of attention often implies a lack of reaction to external or internal stimuli. Sensory neglect may also be associated with increased focus on other tasks. Gaining experience from sensory perceptions is subject to a cyclical selection, organization, and interpretation process. A person’s beliefs also influence perception of experience, their previous experiences in a similar situation, and other conscious and unconscious factors.
Attention
When I am highly focused on an important process, such as studying or watching an interesting movie, I may not notice obvious stimuli around me. Once I was immersed in writing a student paper and spent several hours with my laptop. After that, I was told that for a significant part of the time, my phone rang loudly, which I ignored. At first, this surprised me, but later, I understood that I often did not respond to external and internal stimuli if I was strongly attracted.
Senses
I often neglect the sense of taste because sometimes I have to eat on the go, and I simply do not notice it. I also neglect the pain sensations if I know that I need to continue with my daily activities. I think that my neglect of these feelings is because I am often too busy to notice the taste of food or mild pain.
Selection, Organization, and Interpretation
The process of perception always consists of selecting, organizing, and interpreting experiences gained through the senses. Sensory selection occurs unconsciously and without significant human effort (Wood et al., 2007). When I ignore the taste of food, it is intuitive because my mind decides that other needs are more important. The organization of incentives occurs based on building connections between the familiar and the unfamiliar (Wood et al., 2007).
When my body decides to ignore pain, given more important things, the pain sensations become habitual and do not cause concern. The final stage is interpretation, which takes place based on personal beliefs, experiences, preferences, and ideas about life (Wood et al., 2007). When I neglect senses for other pursuits, I consider them more important than satisfying the response to stimuli of taste and pain.
Effect on Experience
The cyclic process of perception affects the experience gained from sensations. Sensory selection may, over time, become less receptive to the most commonly ignored types of stimuli. For example, the taste of food can, in principle, become insignificant for me, fraught with a loss of pleasure from meals. The organization of stimuli also influences the perception of experience; some stimuli become familiar and receive less attention.
Interpretation is subject to experience and influences it at the same time. If I decide that minor pain sensations are not very important, I will subsequently also neglect them. Such an interpretation may raise the pain threshold in the future, which is fraught with ignoring important physical signals of the body.
Conclusion
Attention is highly affected by a person’s cognitive abilities and can be overly focused on one task. Neglect of sensations may arise due to experience and prejudice, which is often unconscious. When observing the same reaction to the same stimuli, a specific pattern of behavior is developed over time, which will also subsequently affect the interpretation of the experience. Self-reflection of one’s response to stimuli is helpful for a better understanding of reactions, sensations, and behaviors.
Reference
Wood, E. G., Boyd, D., Wood, S. E. (2007). Mastering the world of psychology (2nd ed). Pearson.