In her newly published article in The Conversation, Professor Barbara Sahakian delves into the increasingly fragmented nature of human attention. Drawing on neuroscience and real-world examples—including football’s new “eight seconds rule”—she challenges the popular narrative that attention spans are universally shrinking.

Professor Sahakian explains that attention is multifaceted, encompassing types such as “visual scanning” (a form of “hot cognition”), “sustained attention” (a form of “cold cognition”). While Gen Z is often cited for having shorter attention spans, she argues that motivation plays a critical role: young people can focus for long periods when content is engaging, such as during gaming or listening to podcasts.

The article also highlights how different brain regions are activated depending on the type of attention used, and how first impressions rely on rapid, emotionally driven decisions. Professor Sahakian suggests that improving attention is not about fighting distraction—it is about designing tasks that are more motivating and emotionally resonant.

From lecture hall dynamics to the psychology of “love at first sight,” this piece offers a fresh perspective on how we pay attention—and how we can do it better.