Hyperfocus

Article summary

Hyperfocus is an intense form of mental concentration or visualization that focuses consciousness on a subject, topic, or task. In some individuals, such subjects or topics may also include daydreams, concepts, fiction, the imagination, and other objects of the mind. Hyperfocus on a certain subject can cause side-tracking away from assigned or important tasks. Psychiatrically, it is considered to be a trait of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) together with inattention, and it has been proposed as a trait of other conditions, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One proposed factor in hyperfocus as a symptom involves the psychological theory of brain lateralization, wherein one hemisphere of the brain specializes in some neural functions and cognitive processes over others. Those who have a tendency to hyperfocus, such as those with ADHD, may experience a form of "pseudoneglect", where attention is dominant on one side of the brain, leading to preferential attention in some neural connections and processes over others overall. While this idea is under study, it is not yet empirically proven. Hyperfocus may bear a relationship to the concept of flow. In some circumstances, both flow and hyperfocus can be an aid to achievement, but in other circumstances, the same focus and behavior could be a liability, distracting from the task at hand.…

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