ABSTRACT
I. Voluntary Attention ATTENTION may be defined as the concentration of consciousness upon a specific object or idea. Attention may be voluntary or involuntary.
In voluntary attention the stimulus comes from within the individual himself. When we wish for something we voluntarily pay attention to the means by which we can acquire it. Voluntary attention is a matter of will or conation. The effort of will lasts only a brief time. Either we turn our attention elsewhere or we settle down to an appreciative study of the object. If our interest is sufficient to sustain attention it supplements the effort of will.
