Here I am…writing about this topic again. Kinda funny this phenomenon has…caught my attention(#dadjoke). I’ve written about attention contagion previously on two occasions:
The first article, to the best of my knowledge, is the first research set to specifically study the idea of attention contagion. Of course, research studying learning isn’t ideally conducted in a lab environment, but it’s a start, right? The second article takes this phenomenon out of the lab and studies it in the online classroom. This different setting allows us to begin to see some patterns with attention contagion, which is great. Learning environments differ and research needs to be conducted in a variety of settings, with a variety of participants, so we can more confidently generalize what the research indicates.
But, two studies is not enough. And any aspect of learning that hasn’t been studied in the classroom setting is…suspect, to say the least. And, until the present study (1) was published in August of 2024, there was no research applying attention contagion ‘in the wild’ of in-person classroom learning. So, this makes three total studies on attention contagion…which still isn’t enough, but we’re starting to see some trends, no matter the setting. And I believe that, for teachers, this information is quite valuable when considering how student behavior is contagious and can negatively impact learning.
So, what is attention contagion? It is the spread of attentive (or inattentive) states among members of a group (2). If one student appears interested in a lesson by paying attention and taking notes, will that attentive state spread to those around him or her? Conversely, if a student appears to be disinterested by slouching and looking around the room, will that inattentive state spread to his or her peers? It is an interesting phenomenon to look at as a teacher and one that should garner our…attention. : )
I think it’s important, before really diving into the research on attention contagion in a lecture hall, to differentiate between attentive or inattentive states and obvious distraction. If Jane stands up in the middle of class and starts singing a song at the top of her lungs, that is a distraction and will obviously lead to the spread of inattentive behaviors. In all studies on attention contagion; however, they do not study the obvious distractions. This research looks at more covert behaviors (or lack of behaviors) and how they may or may not spread among peers.
So, let’s now take a look at this study and consider what its findings (along with the other two studies on attention contagion) tell us about our students and our learning environment.
There were four separate experimental sessions, each with 45 participants and 15 confederates (those who pretended to be participants, but were really part of the research team) who were tasked to either exhibit attentive or inattentive behaviors. This means there were two sessions with attentive confederates and two sessions with inattentive confederates. How the researchers defined attentive or inattentive behaviors can be seen below:
Participants and confederates were spread throughout the lecture hall, as seen below:
P = participant C = confederate
Zone MID = Participants with confederates between them
ZoneFB = Participants with confederates in front and behind them
Zone FAR = Participants with no confederates near
Each of the four sessions watched the same 30 minute pre-recorded lecture on content relevant to the course they were enrolled in. The lecture was broken down into six different parts that were roughly five minutes in length. At the end of each section, participants were asked to rate their current attentiveness. Participants, prior to the lecture, were given six pieces of paper (one per section) to write their notes from the lesson. Following the lecture, participants took a 20 question multiple-choice quiz on the material covered and a survey asking questions of their personal rate of attention and motivation and of those around them.
Interestingly, participants were also given a ‘suspicion check’ that provided an opportunity to divulge whether they believed anything about the study was…dubious. Exactly zero participants indicated they believed there were confederates of the study among them.
So, what were the results? Here are some of the findings that jump out at me:
- There was a nonsignificant effect of distraction between participants in both the attentive and inattentive confederate group. This is important as confederates were instructed to not distract participants.
- Participants seated between confederates (Zone MID1, 2, and 3) were significantly better at noting the level of attention/inattention of those seated next to them when compared to those seated in Zone FB and Zone FAR.
- Participants seated amongst attentive confederates were not significantly more attentive and did not perform significantly better on the post-lecture quiz.
- Participants seated in Zone MID1, 2, and 3 between inattentive confederates were negatively impacted both in their attention and quiz performance.
- Participants seated in Zone MID1, 2, and 3 between inattentive confederates took significantly fewer pages of notes, when compared to those in Zone FAR.
- Participants in Zone FB, with inattentive confederates in front of and behind, reported a nonsignificant difference in notes taken when compared to those in Zone FAR.
- Participants in Zone MID1, 2, and 3 between inattentive confederates performed significantly worse on the post-lecture quiz.
- Whether in the attentive or inattentive session, participants in Zone FB and Zone FAR’s post-lecture performance was nonsignificant.
Whew…that’s a lot. I know. But there’s some interesting stuff in there. Let’s unpack it a bit through the eyes of a teacher.
So, in this study, only inattentiveness spread and attentiveness did not. That’s quite a bummer, right? It would be great if there was evidence of attentiveness spreading in the classroom. But, alas, that doesn’t seem to be so from this research. Only inattentiveness spread, and specifically it seemed to spread when participants were seated between inattentive confederates (Zone MID1,2, and 3). These participants self-reported lower attentiveness, took fewer pages of notes, and performed about 8% worse on the post-lecture quiz (73.70 to 64.38). Those participants either seated in front of or behind (Zone FB) or away from inattentive confederates (Zone FAR) were not significantly impacted by inattentive confederates.
It appears, from this data, it is those students who are the most proximal to the inattentive student that will be the most impacted by the inattention. And, just a reminder, this study (and every study so far on attention contagion) only tasked the confederates with being inattentive, not disruptive. Just imagine if students were allowed to pull out their cell phone or play games on their laptop during the lecture. I would hypothesize the addition of technology, whether used correctly or incorrectly, would only exacerbate inattention.
When we add the data from this research to the two other studies, we begin to see some trends. Inattention spread in all three. Whether participants were in a lab, online, or in a lecture hall, those with inattentive confederates were actually quite good at identifying inattentive action/inaction, but some did not realize the negative impact it had on their motivation and behaviors.
While we certainly need more research on the topic of attention contagion, teachers can take what we’ve got and make use of it in the classroom. Understanding that one student’s inattentive action/inaction can negatively influence those around him/her tells me I should be on the lookout for and redirect those students. Again, it’s easy to see and hear the disruptive behavior, but these inattentive behaviors can be a bit more covert.
Also, I make use of this research by also sharing it with my students. It is a practice that I strongly encourage every teacher to do. When I talk about why students should use retrieval practice and spaced practice as their primary strategies for study, I show them the research pointing to its effectiveness. I will literally pull up the research study and we’ll discuss different aspects of the study and the results. Now, I teach high school students and the ability to decipher experimental design and interpret data is part of my curriculum. You may want to adapt this for your students and curriculum. No matter, I still believe it is a valuable practice for all. I think it helps to convey a ‘why’ for the students and lets them know I’m not just doing stuff in class to do stuff in class. I use what I believe shows the best evidence of effectiveness for learning.
So, teachers, be on the lookout for those inattentive actions/inactions and stifle them before they spread throughout the classroom. It is a simple way to improve students’ habits and improve outcomes in the classroom.
If you’d like more information on memory processing, attention in the classroom, and learning strategies with a plethora of research pointing to their effectiveness…I know of a REALLY good book on the subject. Okay, so I’m a little biased because I wrote it. : ) It’s called Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning. If you access this link, you can find more information on the book, endorsements from Dr. John Hattie, Dr. John Sweller, Dr. Dan Willinham, and more, and methods to order in both the US and UK.
I’ll also be presenting on the topic of attention contagion in February 2025 at The Teaching and Learning Summit hosted by Innerdrive. More information about this amazing conference and methods for purchasing tickets can be found here. I’d love to see you there. : )
- Forrin, N. D., Kudsi, N., Cyr, E. N., Sana, F., Davidesco, I., & Kim, J. A. (2024). Investigating attention contagion between students in a lecture hall. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology.
- Forrin, N. D., Huynh, A. C., Smith, A. C., Cyr, E. N., McLean, D. B., Siklos-Whillans, J., … & MacLeod, C. M. (2021). Attention spreads between students in a learning environment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 27(2), 276.
Super interesting, as usual! I know there has been at least some research on distraction at the college level looking at use of laptops in the classroom. I can’t find the reference, but the paper I remember found students behind the offender were distracted while people in front were not. I use it to argue to my students that shopping on the internet during class has big negative spillover effects on the students around them. I also use it to justify spending more time in class on problem-solving activities rather than pure lecture.