From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief characteristics of free attention is its unity.  The mental activity of the person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the satisfying of the need.  It is unified by the appeal the situation makes.  As a result of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated, and can be sustained over a long period.  Of course this means that the work accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in the process.  The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention.  It is present when there is divided interest.  The topic does not appeal to the need of the individual.  He attends to it because he must.  Part of his full power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work, leaving only a part to be given to the work itself.  If there is any other object in the field of attention which is particularly attractive, as there usually is, that claims its share, and the attention is still further divided.  Divided attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot last long.  The very strain and effort involved makes it extremely fatiguing.  The results of work done under such conditions must be poor.  There can be but little thoroughness, for the worker will do just as much as he must to pass muster, and no more.  Inaccuracy and superficiality will characterize such work.  Just as training in giving concentrated attention results in power along that line, so frequent necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided attention which in time will hinder the development of any concentration.

From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds.  It is an absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is present.  It is only when free attention is present that results worth mentioning are accomplished.  It is only under such conditions that the worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment and failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of his way for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into his work in such a way that it is truly educational.  On the other hand, forced attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in the development of a human being.  Its value is that of means to end—­not that of an end in itself.  It is only as it leads into free attention that forced attention is truly valuable.  In that place the part it plays is tremendous because things are as they are.  There will always be materials which will not appeal to a need in some individual because of lack of capacity or experience; there will always be parts of various activities and processes which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to some worker; there will always be choices to be made between instinctive desires and ideal needs, and in each case forced attention is the only means, perhaps, by which the necessary conditions can be acquired that make possible free attention.  It is evident, therefore, that forced attention should be called into play only when needed.  When needed, it should be demanded rigorously, but the sooner the individual in question can pass from it to the other type, the better.  This is true in all fields whether intellectual or moral.