<p><strong>Increasing Concentration</strong></p>

<p>A method that is geared espeacially towards reading scientific texts is <a href="http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CEIQFjAC&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Feducatoral.com%2FSQR3.html&amp;ei=GAsXUoGFJ4rHtAbpgoCQCA&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9ekPAJm983zDygV6_sOBGJF7u8w&amp;sig2=T0Lz2UDpWQKNOOzB_4fL6A&amp;bvm=bv.51156542,d.Yms&amp;cad=rja">SQ3R</a>. SQ3R is short for <em>survey</em>, <em>question</em>, <em>read</em>, <em>recite</em> and <em>review</em>. So instead of "just reading" a text, one is supposed to </p>

<ul>
<li>survey it first to grasp the basic outline by reading the abstract, introduction or table of contents</li>
<li>formulate questions as to what it is that one learns from the text</li>
</ul>

<p>After these two steps you start "really reading" the text, which is the 3R- part of the method. After reading a passage, pause and summarize what you have learned. You can be critical and evaluate the things with respect to a certain criteria (e.g.: how much evidence does the author provide?).</p>

<p>Maybe you don't even have to take this method too literally. You might want to switch the order of the steps a little, or only do some of the things mentioned. Thinking about my way of reading papers, I often do some of the things, but not all of them. But that is of course just my personal experience.</p>

<p><strong>Increasing Motivation</strong></p>

<p>This is maybe the harder part of your question. Goal Setting Theory (Locke &amp; Latham, 2002) might work. According to the theory, setting a specific and challenging goal leads to better performance than a vage and easy goal. In addition, setting a <em>proximal learning goals</em> is recommended, when "the knowledge or skill for attaining a goal is unknown" (Latham &amp; Locke, 2007, p.293). This could be appropriate for a student reading papers, as he is probably not already familiar with the material. Setting a proximal goal also goes well with the notion of reading only a small protion of the text and then summarizing it (the 3R- part from above) as opposed to a more distal goal like: "I want to understand this paper". Using Goal Setting Theory amounts to a form of extrinisc motivation. It does not necessarily get you into a flow. So maybe this is not what you wanted when you asked the question. But after all, having to read a lot of papers as a student is an externally prescribed task. </p>

<p>References:<br>
<sub>
Latham, G. P., &amp; Locke, E. A. (2007). New developments in and directions for goal-setting research. European Psychologist, 12(4), 290-300. <a href="http://media.library.ku.edu.tr/reserve/resspring13/alis350_ETuncer/New_developments.pdf">PDF</a><br>
Locke, E. A., &amp; Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist, 57(9), 705. <a href="http://www.dperdikis.com/business-models/building-a-practically-useful-theory-of-goal-setting-and-task-motivation/">HTML</a>
</sub></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-17T18:00:36.713Z
I was asked to teach the SQ3R method as the first topic in my first assignment as a TA to intro psychology. Seeing it mentioned again takes me back...
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-23T08:03:19.007Z
2013-08-23T08:10:51.487Z
2013-08-23T08:10:51.487Z
Jens Kouros
<p>A.I.R. == Attention. Interest. Repetition. </p>

<p>A.I.R. is a mnemonic for a technique. If the subject is dryasdust but you need to get over the 'getting-started-hump' or you have a busy schedule using A.I.R. in 5 to 20 minute bursts adds up quickly. The 'trick' is for those 5 minutes you force yourself to be interested in the subject at hand. Like an actor you just pretend. The mind soon follows the behavior. Once you start to unlock the 'secrets' of the subject with enforced interest, motivation usually takes care of itself. </p>

<p>Attention is similar in that it is much easier to concentrate if you know in advance you only have to expend the effort for a short period of time. No dread, no crushing burdens on limited time and resources. Of course, attention benefits from practice and controlling disruptions, but again, the short bursts really help overcome many of the mental roadblocks. </p>

<p>Repetition is the key to building strong memories and linking the learned concepts in useful ways in thought to your expanding knowledge base. A.I.R. pretty much made sure I always at least muddled through coursework I had little aptitude for and that really reduced my stress. As a student, when it got really busy I would just keep a short list of A.I.R. subjects on a post-it note. That way I was less likely to miss the opportunities that occur frequently throughout everyday for quick A.I.R sessions. A.I.R. is about being efficient. Stuck in traffic? waiting in line? empty time slot between obligations? waiting for service? on the can? ...? The brain, speaking from my experience only of course, burns copious amounts of glucose in a day and it seems to get better MPG (Miles Per Glucose) in short bursts with frequent short pitstops. The difference on the outcome for exams was always noticeable if A.I.R. was used for the days or weeks beforehand.  For me the A.I.R. technique has been useful over the years for rapidly evaluating new areas of potential interest. An occasional A.I.R. session on old subjects never hurts. Just remember A.I.R. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-04T23:40:37.617Z
Thanks for your answer! Could you add a reference perhaps?
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-04T22:28:46.847Z
2015-05-04T22:28:46.847Z
redShirtGuy
<h3>Background</h3>

<p>Unfortunately I am not a specialist in Cognitive Science I am just a regular CS student who has big interest in cognitive science. </p>

<p>I want to share with you some interesting observation I am sure all of us familiar with it, however I wonder whether there are some researches about this observation.</p>

<p>As a student I have to do some kind of activities all the time it can be <strong>reading papers</strong>, <strong>solving exercises</strong>, <strong>talking with classmates</strong>, <strong>thinking about problem in research</strong>. The problem is I find all these activities very  different in terms of engagement. </p>

<p>Let us consider <strong>solving exercises</strong>. This is an activity with a high level of engagement. When you do this you are very concentrated, I noticed that all my mental force are concentrated on this activity. I don't pay attention what happens around. I do hear and see people. However I don't pay attention to them, and I cannot control this state it happens unintentionally/ I wish I could go in this flow when I want, but I cannot. However I know what to do in order to get into this flow, just calm sit down get some exercises and try to solve it.</p>

<p>On the other hand <strong>reading papers</strong> has less engagement. I usually I set a goal to every day to read a paper (among all other tasks I plan to do every day) even when I don't need to read (of course there are days when I have to spend all day reading papers). The problem is when reading papers I need really quiet place, I get easily annoyed by talking people around me, the best place I found so far is library, but what really makes me crazy is not only people can shatter your peace but my mind doesn't want to concentrate on reading. I very often found myself daydreaming about something when reading  paper in this case I have to reread few last paragraphs, just because my mind didn't get them. </p>

<p>(Some thought about academical writings)I thought, what the reason of this problem, maybe we can start to write papers in different way, let say papers without obvious conclusion and result such that to cause you to think about it to derive the conclusion by yourself, maybe the best way to write two version of papers one is open ended and the second with results.</p>

<p>So far, I use the following technique to be concentrated when reading papers, before reading try do something with high engagement, <strong>solving exercise</strong>, <strong>programming</strong> a while and them start reading the paper.</p>

<h3>Questions</h3>

<ul>
<li><strong>What are effective strategies for increasing concentration and motivation when doing seemingly passive activities such as reading journal articles?</strong></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-22T07:27:52.623Z
It is an interesting situation. Your initial question needed clarification regarding (a) what was the question; (b) how could it be framed in a general way. I have given it a little edit so that there is a clear question. Feel free to edit further if your question is different or you have additional related questions.
Jeromy Anglim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-22T10:47:00.140Z
@JeromyAnglim This is better suited to [productivity.se]. In fact, I think this has been answered there before.
asheeshr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-22T10:51:29.877Z
@AsheeshR if the OP would like to request a migration, I'm happy to do that. However, I imagine on cogsci you are likely to get a different kind of answer than on personal productivity. In particular, I think answers on cogsci would be more research based and grounded in psychological theory. However, if you know of any specific equivalent questions on personal productivity it might be worth posting them here.
Jeromy Anglim
<motivation><performance><positive-psychology><attention><concentration>
What are effective strategies for increasing concentration and motivation when doing seemingly passive activities such as reading journal articles?
user10756
# What are effective strategies for increasing concentration and motivation when doing seemingly passive activities such as reading journal articles?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-08-22)

### Background

Unfortunately I am not a specialist in Cognitive Science I am just a regular CS student who has big interest in cognitive science.

I want to share with you some interesting observation I am sure all of us familiar with it, however I wonder whether there are some researches about this observation.

As a student I have to do some kind of activities all the time it can be **reading papers**, **solving exercises**, **talking with classmates**, **thinking about problem in research**. The problem is I find all these activities very different in terms of engagement.

Let us consider **solving exercises**. This is an activity with a high level of engagement. When you do this you are very concentrated, I noticed that all my mental force are concentrated on this activity. I don't pay attention what happens around. I do hear and see people. However I don't pay attention to them, and I cannot control this state it happens unintentionally/ I wish I could go in this flow when I want, but I cannot. However I know what to do in order to get into this flow, just calm sit down get some exercises and try to solve it.

On the other hand **reading papers** has less engagement. I usually I set a goal to every day to read a paper (among all other tasks I plan to do every day) even when I don't need to read (of course there are days when I have to spend all day reading papers). The problem is when reading papers I need really quiet place, I get easily annoyed by talking people around me, the best place I found so far is library, but what really makes me crazy is not only people can shatter your peace but my mind doesn't want to concentrate on reading. I very often found myself daydreaming about something when reading paper in this case I have to reread few last paragraphs, just because my mind didn't get them.

(Some thought about academical writings)I thought, what the reason of this problem, maybe we can start to write papers in different way, let say papers without obvious conclusion and result such that to cause you to think about it to derive the conclusion by yourself, maybe the best way to write two version of papers one is open ended and the second with results.

So far, I use the following technique to be concentrated when reading papers, before reading try do something with high engagement, **solving exercise**, **programming** a while and them start reading the paper.

### Questions

* **What are effective strategies for increasing concentration and motivation when doing seemingly passive activities such as reading journal articles?**

**Tags:** motivation, performance, positive-psychology, attention, concentration

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It is an interesting situation. Your initial question needed clarification regarding (a) what was the question; (b) how could it be framed in a general way. I have given it a little edit so that there is a clear question. Feel free to edit further if your question is different or you have additional related questions.  
> **username_2**: @JeromyAnglim This is better suited to [productivity.se]. In fact, I think this has been answered there before.  
> **username_1**: @AsheeshR if the OP would like to request a migration, I'm happy to do that. However, I imagine on cogsci you are likely to get a different kind of answer than on personal productivity. In particular, I think answers on cogsci would be more research based and grounded in psychological theory. However, if you know of any specific equivalent questions on personal productivity it might be worth posting them here.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-08-23. Score: 8

**Increasing Concentration**

A method that is geared espeacially towards reading scientific texts is [SQ3R](http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Feducatoral.com%2FSQR3.html&ei=GAsXUoGFJ4rHtAbpgoCQCA&usg=AFQjCNG9ekPAJm983zDygV6_sOBGJF7u8w&sig2=T0Lz2UDpWQKNOOzB_4fL6A&bvm=bv.51156542,d.Yms&cad=rja). SQ3R is short for *survey*, *question*, *read*, *recite* and *review*. So instead of "just reading" a text, one is supposed to

* survey it first to grasp the basic outline by reading the abstract, introduction or table of contents
* formulate questions as to what it is that one learns from the text

After these two steps you start "really reading" the text, which is the 3R- part of the method. After reading a passage, pause and summarize what you have learned. You can be critical and evaluate the things with respect to a certain criteria (e.g.: how much evidence does the author provide?).

Maybe you don't even have to take this method too literally. You might want to switch the order of the steps a little, or only do some of the things mentioned. Thinking about my way of reading papers, I often do some of the things, but not all of them. But that is of course just my personal experience.

**Increasing Motivation**

This is maybe the harder part of your question. Goal Setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 2002) might work. According to the theory, setting a specific and challenging goal leads to better performance than a vage and easy goal. In addition, setting a *proximal learning goals* is recommended, when "the knowledge or skill for attaining a goal is unknown" (Latham & Locke, 2007, p.293). This could be appropriate for a student reading papers, as he is probably not already familiar with the material. Setting a proximal goal also goes well with the notion of reading only a small protion of the text and then summarizing it (the 3R- part from above) as opposed to a more distal goal like: "I want to understand this paper". Using Goal Setting Theory amounts to a form of extrinisc motivation. It does not necessarily get you into a flow. So maybe this is not what you wanted when you asked the question. But after all, having to read a lot of papers as a student is an externally prescribed task.

References:  
Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (2007). New developments in and directions for goal-setting research. European Psychologist, 12(4), 290-300. [PDF](http://media.library.ku.edu.tr/reserve/resspring13/alis350_ETuncer/New_developments.pdf)  
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist, 57(9), 705. [HTML](http://www.dperdikis.com/business-models/building-a-practically-useful-theory-of-goal-setting-and-task-motivation/)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I was asked to teach the SQ3R method as the first topic in my first assignment as a TA to intro psychology. Seeing it mentioned again takes me back...  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-05-04. Score: 0

A.I.R. == Attention. Interest. Repetition.

A.I.R. is a mnemonic for a technique. If the subject is dryasdust but you need to get over the 'getting-started-hump' or you have a busy schedule using A.I.R. in 5 to 20 minute bursts adds up quickly. The 'trick' is for those 5 minutes you force yourself to be interested in the subject at hand. Like an actor you just pretend. The mind soon follows the behavior. Once you start to unlock the 'secrets' of the subject with enforced interest, motivation usually takes care of itself.

Attention is similar in that it is much easier to concentrate if you know in advance you only have to expend the effort for a short period of time. No dread, no crushing burdens on limited time and resources. Of course, attention benefits from practice and controlling disruptions, but again, the short bursts really help overcome many of the mental roadblocks.

Repetition is the key to building strong memories and linking the learned concepts in useful ways in thought to your expanding knowledge base. A.I.R. pretty much made sure I always at least muddled through coursework I had little aptitude for and that really reduced my stress. As a student, when it got really busy I would just keep a short list of A.I.R. subjects on a post-it note. That way I was less likely to miss the opportunities that occur frequently throughout everyday for quick A.I.R sessions. A.I.R. is about being efficient. Stuck in traffic? waiting in line? empty time slot between obligations? waiting for service? on the can? ...? The brain, speaking from my experience only of course, burns copious amounts of glucose in a day and it seems to get better MPG (Miles Per Glucose) in short bursts with frequent short pitstops. The difference on the outcome for exams was always noticeable if A.I.R. was used for the days or weeks beforehand. For me the A.I.R. technique has been useful over the years for rapidly evaluating new areas of potential interest. An occasional A.I.R. session on old subjects never hurts. Just remember A.I.R.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: Thanks for your answer! Could you add a reference perhaps?  

---

