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:

• sustainability(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 related to 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 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:

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”.

The objects of involuntary attention can be: 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 is 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.

Let's consider two classifications.

1. Attention can be external(directed to the surroundings) and internal(focus on one's own experiences, thoughts, feelings).

Such a division is to some extent arbitrary, since often people are immersed in their own thoughts, pondering their behavior.

2. The classification is based on the level of volitional regulation. Attention stands out involuntary, arbitrary, after-arbitrary.

involuntary attention arises without any effort on the part of the person, and there is no purpose and special intention.

Involuntary attention may occur:

1) due to certain characteristics of the stimulus.

These features include:

a) strength, and not absolute, but relative (in complete darkness, the light from a match can attract attention);

b) surprise;

c) novelty and unusualness;

d) contrast (among Europeans, a person of a Negroid race is more likely to attract attention);

e) mobility (the action of the beacon is based on this, which does not just burn, but flashes);

2) from the inner motives of the individual.

This includes the mood of a person, his interests and needs.

For example, the old facade of a building is more likely to attract the attention of a person interested in architecture than other passers-by.

Arbitrary attention arises when a goal is consciously set, for the achievement of which strong-willed efforts are applied.

Voluntary attention is most likely in the following situations:

1) when a person is clearly aware of his duties and specific tasks in the performance of activities;

2) when the activity is carried out under habitual conditions, for example: the habit of doing everything according to the regime creates in advance an attitude towards voluntary attention;

3) when the performance of the activity concerns any indirect interests, for example: playing scales on the piano is not very exciting, but necessary if you want to be a good musician;

4) when favorable conditions are created during the performance of activities, but this does not mean complete silence, since weak side stimuli (for example, quiet music) can even increase work efficiency.

Post-voluntary attention is intermediate between involuntary and voluntary, combining the features of these two types.

It arises as an arbitrary one, but after some time, the activity performed becomes so interesting that it no longer requires additional volitional efforts.

Thus, attention characterizes the activity and selectivity of a person in his interaction with others.

2. Traditionally, there are five properties of attention:

1) concentration (concentration);

2) stability;

4) distribution;

5) switching.

Concentration(concentration) - attention is kept on any object or activity, while being distracted from everything else.

Sustainability- this is a long retention of attention, which increases if a person is active when performing actions with objects or performing activities.

Stability decreases if the object of attention is mobile, constantly changing.

Volume attention is determined by the number of objects that a person is able to perceive clearly enough at the same time. For most adults, the amount of attention is 4–6 objects, for a schoolchild it is 2–5 objects.

Distribution of attention- the ability of a person to perform two or even more activities simultaneously, when a person is simultaneously focused on several objects.

As a rule, distribution occurs when any of the activities is mastered to such an extent that it requires little control.

For example, a gymnast can solve simple arithmetic problems while walking on a beam that is 10 cm wide, while a person who is far from sports is unlikely to do this.

Switching attention- the ability of a person to focus alternately on one or another activity (object) in connection with the emergence of a new task.

Attention also has its drawbacks, the most common of which is absent-mindedness, which is expressed in two forms:

1) frequent involuntary distractibility in the process of performing activities.

They say about such people that they have “fluttering”, “sliding” attention. May occur as a result of:

a) insufficient development of attention;

b) feeling unwell, tired;

c) for students - neglect of educational material;

d) lack of interest;

2) excessive focus on one object or activity, when no attention is paid to anything else.

For example, a person, thinking about something important for himself, may, crossing the road, not notice the red color of the traffic light and fall under the wheels of a car.

So, the positive properties of attention help to perform any type of activity more efficiently and efficiently.

3. The attention of a preschooler is characterized by such qualities as involuntary, lack of concentration, instability.

With admission to school, the role of attention increases dramatically, because it is precisely good level its development is the key to the success of mastering educational activities.

How can the teacher organize the attention of students during the lesson?

Let us name only some of the pedagogical techniques that increase the attentiveness of schoolchildren.

1. The use of voice and emotional modulation, gesticulation attracts the attention of students, i.e. the teacher should constantly change the intonation, pitch, volume of the voice (from ordinary speech to a whisper), while using adequate facial expressions and gestures.

Be mindful of gestures of openness and goodwill (see topic "Communication").

2. Change of pace: maintaining a pause, a sharp change in speed, a transition from deliberately slow speech to a tongue twister.

3. In the course of explaining the new material, students should take notes on the key (key) words, you can invite someone alone to do this on the board.

At the end of the explanation, the students take turns reading their notes.

4. In the course of the explanation, interrupt the speech at words that are quite obvious to the listeners, requiring them to continue.

The activity of schoolchildren should be encouraged in accessible ways.

5. "Memory lapses", when the teacher allegedly forgets something quite obvious to the audience and ask him to help him "remember" (dates, names, terms, etc.).

6. The use of various types of questions in the course of explaining new material: leading, control, rhetorical, clarifying, counter, questions-suggestions, etc.

7. Changing the types of activities during the lesson significantly increases the attentiveness of schoolchildren (for example, in a mathematics lesson, this can be an oral count, a solution at the blackboard, answers on cards, etc.).

8. A clear organization of the lesson, when the teacher does not have to be distracted by side actions, leaving the children left to their own devices.

If you need to write something on the board, it is better to do it in advance during recess.

When teaching younger students, it is not advisable to interrupt their activities with additional instructions such as: “Do not forget to start with the red line”, “Remember vocabulary words”, etc.

After all, the work has already begun, and the demands "after" will only distract the children.

It is also unacceptable, when performing collective work, to make loud remarks to individual children (“Masha, do not stoop”, “Sasha, do not fidget”), thereby distracting other class students from work.

For children of primary school age, it is important to think over changes, because children must have time to relax, but at the same time quickly join the process of the next lesson.

Compliance with the considered pedagogical conditions for increasing children's attention will make it possible to more successfully organize the student's educational activities.

Good attention is necessary not only for schoolchildren, but also for adults.

Let's take a closer look ways to improve attention.

2. It is important to systematically exercise in the simultaneous observation of several objects, while being able to separate the main from the secondary.

3. You should train switching attention: the speed of transition from one activity to another, the ability to highlight the main thing, the ability to change the order of switching (figuratively, this is called the development of a “perception route”).

4. The presence of volitional qualities contributes to the development of stability of attention.

You need to be able to force yourself to focus when you don’t feel like it.

It is necessary to alternate difficult tasks with easy ones, interesting ones with uninteresting ones.

5. Frequent use of intellectual games (chess, puzzles, etc.) also develops attention.

6. The best way to develop attention is to be attentive to the people around you.

Thus, one should develop and improve one's attention throughout one's life.

natural and socially conditioned attention,

direct and indirect attention

Involuntary and voluntary attention

Sensual and intellectual attention.

Natural attention is given to a person from the day of his birth, as an innate ability to selectively respond to one or another external or internal stimulus that carries elements of informational novelty. The main mechanism that ensures the work of such attention is called the orienting reflex. Socially conditioned attention is formed as a result life experience, training and education, is associated with volitional regulation of behavior, with a conscious selective response to objects. Direct attention is not controlled by anything other than the object to which it is directed and which corresponds to the actual interests and needs of a person.

Indirect attention is regulated with the help of special means, such as gestures, words, pointing signs, objects.

Indeed, it is difficult to force ourselves to be attentive to something with which nothing can be done, which does not cause our external or internal activity. But there are objects and phenomena that, as it were, attract attention to themselves, sometimes even contrary to our desire.

There are two different types of attention here:

1) Involuntary attention

involuntary attention - 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 stimulus. 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.

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

The unexpectedness of the stimulus.

The relative strength of the stimulus.

The novelty of the stimulus.

moving objects.

The inner state of a person.

Arbitrary attention

Arbitrary attention is more complex and peculiar only to a person, it is formed in the learning process: at home, 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.

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.

Psychological feature of voluntary attention

The psychological feature of voluntary attention is its accompaniment by the experience of greater or lesser volitional effort, tension, and prolonged maintenance of voluntary attention causes fatigue, often even more than physical stress.

A person makes a significant effort of will, concentrates his attention, understands the content necessary for himself, and then, without volitional tension, carefully follows the material being studied.