The relationship between passive focus and active focus

Passive focus and active focus are two different modes of attention, with the former triggered by external stimuli and the latter requiring subjective will to maintain.

Passive concentration refers to the attention that an individual naturally attracts when stimulated by new, strong, or changing stimuli in the environment, such as sudden sounds or flickering lights that instinctively attract attention. This attention mode does not require the consumption of psychological energy and belongs to the survival instinct preserved by human evolution, but it has a shallow depth of information processing and a short duration. In early childhood, passive focus is dominant, and high-frequency stimulating content such as short videos and games use this characteristic to attract users.

Active concentration requires the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in regulation, which suppresses distracting information to achieve purposeful attention, such as reading professional books or completing complex work tasks. This attention mode consumes cognitive resources, but can achieve deep information processing, which is the core guarantee of learning efficiency. Long term dependence on passive focus may lead to a decline in active focus, manifested as difficulty in consistently completing tasks with low stimulus intensity. To cultivate active focus, it is necessary to reduce fragmented information intake, improve attention stability through structured exercises such as mindfulness training and tomato work method, while ensuring sufficient sleep and regular exercise to maintain optimal brain state. Passive focus can be appropriately used for interest stimulation, but excessive dependence should be avoided.