Human attention - features of development

Snezhana Ivanova

Attention is a mental cognitive process aimed at reflecting mental properties, providing concentration of consciousness.

Attention is a mental cognitive process aimed at reflecting the mental properties, states of an object, which ensures the concentration of consciousness. Such a focus on certain subjects has a selective orientation and contributes to the formation of an individual attitude towards them.

As objects attention can be both other persons and inanimate objects. Phenomena of nature, objects of art and science are also often in the field of attention of the subject. It must be admitted that only those objects that arouse significant interest in him, or are due to the social need for study, fall into the zone of human attention. The development of attention directly depends on such factors as the age of a person, the purposefulness of his aspirations, interest in the subject or phenomenon being studied, the regularity of performing special exercises.

Types of attention

involuntary attention

It is characterized by the absence of a conscious choice of a person. It occurs when an influencing stimulus appears, which makes you momentarily distract from everyday affairs and switch your mental energy. This type of attention is difficult to manage, since it is directly related to the internal attitudes of the individual. In other words, we are always attracted only by what is of significant interest, what excites and makes the feelings, the emotional sphere “move”.

Objects not voluntary attention can become: unexpected noise on the street or in the room, new person or a phenomenon that appeared before the eyes, any moving objects, the mental state of a person, an individual mood.

involuntary attention valuable for its immediacy and naturalness of occurrence, which always provides a lively emotional response. But, at the same time, it can distract a person from performing urgent tasks, solving significant problems.

As a rule, in preschool children, involuntary attention predominates. Educators of children's institutions, of course, will agree that their attention can only be attracted by bright, interesting images and events. That is why classes in kindergarten so replete with beautiful characters, attractive tasks, huge scope for imagination and creativity.

Arbitrary attention

It is characterized by conscious retention of concentration on the object. Arbitrary attention begins when motivation appears, that is, a person understands and consciously focuses his attention on something. Stability and perseverance are its essential attributes. In order for the necessary action to be performed, a person is required to make an effort of will, come into a state of tension, and activate mental activity.

For example, a student before an exam tries his best to focus on the material being studied. And even if he is not entirely interested in what he will have to tell the teacher, his attention is maintained due to serious motivation. The need to close the semester, to come home as soon as possible, sometimes adds a powerful incentive in order to stretch a little, put aside all entertainment and travel.

However, it should be remembered that prolonged concentration of voluntary attention leads to a state of fatigue, even severe overwork. Therefore, between serious intellectual work, it is recommended to take reasonable breaks: go outside to breathe fresh air, do simple physical exercises, exercises. But you don’t need to read books on abstract topics: the head will not have time to rest, in addition, the presence of excess information can provoke further unwillingness to return to business. It has been noticed that a strong interest induces activity, activates the work of the brain, and this can and should be strived for.

Post-voluntary attention

It is characterized by the absence of tension in the subject of activity when performing a task. In this case, the motivation and desire to achieve a specific goal is strong enough. This type of attention differs from the previous one in that internal motivation prevails over external. That is, a person, his consciousness is guided not by social necessity, but by an individual need for action. Such attention has a very productive effect on any activity, gives significant results.

Basic properties of attention

The properties of attention in psychology are a number of significant characteristics that are closely related to the components of the activity of the individual.

• Concentration- this is a deliberate focus on the object of activity. Attention retention occurs due to strong motivation and the desire of the subject to perform the action as best as possible. The intensity of concentration on the subject of interest is controlled by the consciousness of the individual. If the concentration is high enough, then the result will not be long in coming. On average, without a break, a person can focus attention for 30 to 40 minutes, but a lot can be done during this time. It should be remembered that when working at a computer, you should take short breaks of 5 to 10 minutes for yourself to rest your eyes.
• Volume is the number of objects that consciousness can hold simultaneously in its field of vision. In other words, the volume is measured in the mutual ratio of objects and the degree of stability of attention to them. If a person is able to maintain focus on objects for a sufficiently long time and their number is large, then we can talk about a high amount of attention.
• Sustainability. Stability is the ability to keep attention on one object for a long time and not switch to another. If there was a distraction, then they usually talk about lability. Sustainability of attention is characterized by the ability to discover new things in familiar things: to discover relationships and aspects that were not previously noticed and not studied, to see prospects for further development and movement.
• switchability. Switchability is a meaningful purposeful change in the direction of the focus of attention. This property is characterized by the conditionality of external circumstances or phenomena. If the switching of attention does not occur under the influence of a more significant object and does not differ in special intentionality, then one speaks of simple distractibility. It must be admitted that it is difficult to switch attention from one object to another due to strong concentration. Then it even happens that a person moves on to another activity, but mentally continues to concentrate on the previous one: he thinks over the details, analyzes, and emotionally worries. Switching attention is needed to relax after intense mental work, to be included in a new activity.
• Distribution. Distribution is the ability of consciousness to simultaneously focus attention on several objects that are approximately in the same position in terms of importance. The ratio of objects among themselves, of course, has an impact on how this distribution occurs: the transition from one object to another. At the same time, a person often experiences a state of fatigue, caused by the need to be in one focus point to constantly remember about other existing ones.

Features of the development of attention

The development of human attention is necessarily associated with the ability to focus on one or more objects for a certain period of time without any distraction. This is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. After all, in order to focus on something, you need to be sufficiently interested in your business. So, for the development of involuntary attention, only an interesting object is required, on which one could focus the gaze. Arbitrary attention, however, requires a serious approach: purposefulness of actions, strong-willed effort, the ability to control one's feelings in order to prevent distraction at the most inopportune moment are needed. Post-voluntary attention is the most productive of all, as it does not require overcoming and additional efforts.

Attention Development Methods

At the moment, there are a variety of methods for developing attention that allow you to achieve high results and learn to control attention.

Development of concentration

It is recommended to choose an object for observation, and for a certain period of time try to focus your attention on it. Moreover, the simpler this subject, the better. For example, you can put a book on the table and imagine what it is written about, what are the main characters. One can only think of a book as an object made of paper and cardboard, imagine how many trees it took to make it. In the end, you can just pay attention to its color and shape. Which direction to choose is up to you. This exercise perfectly trains the focus of attention itself, allows you to develop the duration of concentration on one object.

If you wish, you can try to practice holding two or more objects in your field of vision. Then, to all of the above, it is necessary to add the development of the ability to switch attention from one object to another, memorizing and noting significant features each of them.

Development of visual attention

Exercises should be aimed at expanding the ability of the individual to focus on the object. For example, you can put an object in front and set yourself the task of looking at it for 3 to 5 minutes, highlighting as many details as possible. At first you will begin to take shape general idea about the subject: its color and shape, size and height. However, gradually, the more you concentrate, the more clearly new details will begin to appear: small details, minor adaptations, etc. They, too, must be seen and noted to yourself.

Development of auditory attention

To improve this type of attention, you need to set yourself the goal of concentrating on the sounding voice for no more than ten minutes. It is best if it is meaningful human speech, however, if you want to relax, you can include birdsong here or any melody that meets the requirements of relaxing music.

If human speech sounds, while listening, it is important to note the speed with which the lecturer speaks, the degree of emotionality of the presentation of the material, the subjective usefulness of the information. It is also quite acceptable to listen to fairy tales, stories in the recording, and then try to remember and reproduce their content. In the case of listening to music, it is important to capture the levels of vibration of the sound wave, try to "connect" to the reproduced emotions and imagine the details of something.

How to manage attention?

Many people who want to increase their level of attention face constant difficulties. Some may not be able to concentrate on the details, others have difficulty with when to perceive the subject as a whole. In this case, I would like to advise you to train at different facilities in all directions and do it every day. Agree, it’s not difficult to spend 5-10 minutes a day working on yourself.

Thus, the problems of developing attention are quite multifaceted and deep. It is impossible to consider this type of cognitive processes only as a component of activity. We must also remember that we always need attention in Everyday life Therefore, it is important to be able to focus on simple things notice even the smallest details.

Involuntary attention is a lower form of attention that occurs as a result of the impact of a stimulus on any of the analyzers. It is formed according to the law of the orienting reflex and is common to humans and animals.

The emergence of involuntary attention can be caused by the peculiarity of the acting stimulus, and also be determined by the correspondence of these stimuli to past experience or the mental state of a person.

Sometimes involuntary attention can be useful, both at work and at home, it gives us the opportunity to timely identify the appearance of an irritant and take the necessary measures, and facilitates inclusion in habitual activities.

But at the same time, involuntary attention can have a negative effect on the success of the activity performed, distracting us from the main thing in the task being solved, reducing the productivity of work in general. For example, unusual noises, shouts, and flashes of light during work distract our attention and interfere with concentration.

Causes of involuntary attention

Causes of involuntary attention may be:

The unexpectedness of the stimulus.

The relative strength of the stimulus.

The novelty of the stimulus.

moving objects. T. Ribot singled out precisely this factor, believing that as a result of purposeful activation of movements, concentration and increased attention to the subject occur.

The contrast of objects or phenomena.

The inner state of a person.

The French psychologist T. Ribot wrote that the nature of involuntary attention is rooted in the deep recesses of our being. Directing the involuntary attention of a given person reveals his character, or at least his aspirations.

Based on this feature, we can conclude that this person is frivolous, banal, limited, or sincere and deep. A beautiful landscape attracts the artist's attention, acting on his aesthetic sense, while a local resident sees only something ordinary in the same landscape.

Arbitrary attention

If you tell me what you pay attention to, then I can determine whether you are a pragmatist or a highly spiritual person. Here we are talking about another kind of attention - arbitrary, deliberate, active.

If animals also have involuntary attention, then voluntary attention is possible only in humans, and it arose due to conscious labor activity. To achieve a certain goal, a person has to do not only what is in itself interesting, pleasant, entertaining, to do not only what he wants, but also what is necessary.

Arbitrary attention is more complex and peculiar only to a person is formed in the learning process: in everyday life, at school, at work. It is characterized by the fact that it is directed to the object under the influence of our intention and goal. Everything is simple here, you need to set a goal: "I need to be attentive, and I will force myself to be attentive, no matter what," and stubbornly go towards this goal.

Physiological mechanism of voluntary attention

The physiological mechanism of voluntary attention is the focus of optimal excitation in the cerebral cortex, supported by signals coming from the second signaling system. Hence, the role of the words of parents or the teacher for the formation of voluntary attention in the child is obvious.

The emergence of voluntary attention in a person is historically associated with the labor process, because. without controlling one's attention, it is impossible to carry out conscious and planned activity.

Every minute a person concentrates his attention on the signals and objects of the outside world, filtering information according to the principle of importance and relevance.

But how does the “filtering” process take place and what is its basis?

The concept and types of attention in psychology

Attention- this is the ability of a person to selectively direct perception to one or another object, while concentrating thoughts, sight and hearing.

Attention can also be seen as a special property of the organism, allowing high-value information to be passed through and perceived, and allowing one to respond only to what is of interest.

Properties:

• stability(the ability to concentrate on one thing for a long time);
• switchability(the ability to quickly move from one object to another, in the process managing to achieve maximum concentration on each of them);
• distractibility(the degree of susceptibility to stimuli that are not in the plane of the task);
• attention span(number of simultaneously perceived objects/stimuli/sources of information);
• concentration(focus on the object);
• distribution(simultaneous performance of several activities that do not imply switching attention).

There are three types of attention:

involuntary

involuntary attention is the most ancient and passive type, which occurs regardless of and is supported without an application.

What is the difference between active and passive imagination in psychology? Learn about it from ours.

Causes and conditions of occurrence

The reason for involuntary attention lies in the external world (environment). But it also depends on emotional and instinctive prerequisites(features) of the individual.

Any phenomenon, object or activity captures a person because of its uniqueness, entertainment, significance, etc.

The nature of the stimulus plays an important role: how noticeable is it in conditions environment and how much it stands out against the general background.

Bright colors, intense smells, too loud sounds and expressive tactile sensations "switch" a person's attention to themselves.

However, there is no absolute measure of the strength of the stimulus. After all, in a dark room, the light of a flashlight will attract attention, while in a consecrated room, the switched on lamp may go unnoticed.

Compliance with the internal state of a person is another significant criterion. A hungry person will react to the image and smell of food much more actively than a full one.

General orientation of personality also affects involuntary attention. A person will be directed to the perception of objects and situations related to priority activities and interests for him.

Attitude to the stimulus in conjunction with life experience also important. If a person has learned that watching animals brings pleasure, he will watch the kittens play for a long time, being carried away by this spectacle at the level of involuntary attention.

Examples

Examples of involuntary attention:

1. The individual walks on the street and concentrates on a telephone conversation. Then he feels a sharp and rough push in the back, because of which he involuntarily turns around and begins to look for the culprit of the collision, involuntarily concentrating on the situation.
2. While walking in a quiet park, an individual hears the cry of a child, after which he begins to look for the source of the sound and tries to understand how the baby ended up in the park without adult accompaniment.

   This sound, like the question that has arisen in the head, occupies the thoughts of a person involuntarily, as it is of interest.

3. While waiting for his turn to the doctor, a person involuntarily observes TV in the lobby of the hospital. He watches ads because video is the most dynamic and entertaining stimulus in the room.
4. The girl communicates with the guy and at the same time is in correspondence with her friend. She listens to her interlocutor inattentively, as she is very interested in the discussion. latest news with a pen pal. But when a young man begins to express his feelings, the girl instantly switches to this important information as a confession of a nice guy.

Arbitrary

The main feature of voluntary attention is binding to conscious aspirations and manageability.

This type is subject to the will and labor effort.

Also given type called active and intentional.

Physiological mechanism

The basic function of voluntary attention is regulation of mental processes. At the core physiological mechanism lies selective activation of the cerebral cortex and their functional association under the influence of controlled local activation.

Psychological feature

When a person needs to achieve a certain result, he develops an action plan, which includes concentration task on something in order to suppress the involuntary desire to "spray" attention to more pleasant and exciting things.

A person is guided by the category of “must”, meeting the requirements of the activity.

Arbitrary attention is not due to the contrast of external influences. In the process of concentration, a person ignores intense stimuli and can concentrate even when there is no interest.

After 20 minutes of deliberate concentration, the individual becomes fatigued and the ability to control attention weakens.

Young children are not subject to voluntary attention because consciousness is still underdeveloped.

Managed concentration on something is developed after two years.

How do achievement motivations and failure avoidance motivations work? you will find on our website.

Examples

If the will is not sufficiently developed or the task is not important / priority, a person may experience difficulty with intentional concentration:

1. The schoolgirl decided to do the lessons for the next school week. But realizing that there is no hurry, she is constantly distracted to the sound of the wind, a kitten sleeping next to it and a fashion magazine on the table.
2. An employee was asked to fill in statistics that, in his opinion, will not play a significant role in the work of the department. But the need to complete the task forces him to connect deliberate attention.

   However, he does not feel the significance of his activity and constantly “disconnects” from the process, goes off to pour himself coffee, buy a chocolate bar and replace a broken pencil.

Post-voluntary

You can talk about a post-arbitrary type when voluntary attention goes into the category of involuntary.

For example, when a child begins to learn letters at the insistence of his mother, at first he performs the task reluctantly and literally forces himself to join in educational process, but then excitement and a desire to successfully cope with an interesting lesson wake up.

External stimuli fade into the background, and the student has more do not have to consciously concentrate on current activities. Those. the condition for the emergence of post-voluntary attention is interest.

The principles of pedagogy are built on post-voluntary attention, since voluntary and involuntary attention in preschoolers and schoolchildren does not meet the requirements of the educational process.

With an arbitrary type, children quickly get tired, try to "cheat" and are reluctant to start lessons, and an involuntary type does not imply organized and controlled concentration.

The right way to organize attention allows you to achieve efficiency in any kind of activity. And it is not only about concentration through volitional effort.

It is important to understand the principle of transition from an arbitrary to a post-voluntary type and to learn how to "regulate" external stimuli in order to exclude an unconscious transition to an involuntary type.

About the types of attention in this video:

Cheat sheet on general psychology Voytina Yulia Mikhailovna

57. INVOLVED ATTENTION

57. INVOLVED ATTENTION