Course work

General psychology

The psychological essence of attention and its properties

Goroshkov Sergey Evgenievich

Introduction

The concept of attention

1 Attention and consciousness

2 Physiological mechanisms of attention

3 Orienting reflex

5 Development of attention

Main types

1 Types of attention

2 Main properties

3 Absence

4 Psychologist in KRO classes

Conclusion

Glossary

Application

Introduction

The theme of this course work is the essence of attention and its properties.

Attention is the focus and concentration of consciousness on any object, phenomenon or activity. Attention can be represented as a cognitive process that ensures the ordering of information coming from outside, depending on the primacy and importance of the tasks facing the person.

Already from this definition, attention follows that it is characterized by a focus on what the consciousness is occupied with, and the concentration of consciousness on something that requires special awareness.

In the life of any person, there may be cases when something is better done with dispersed attention, and sometimes a person is required to clearly concentrate on a particular subject.

Dispersed attention is also obligatory for a person in the case when he needs to perform several actions at the same time. More difficulty in performing complex tasks is reduced in the case of constant attention training, and the performance of these tasks becomes habitual. A person achieves automatism, that is, automatic processing of information takes place, therefore, fewer cognitive resources are required to complete these tasks.

In modern psychology, attention studies are included, along with general psychology, into engineering psychology and labor psychology, neuropsychology and medical psychology, developmental and educational psychology.

The purpose of the study is to reveal the essence of attention and consider its properties.

Research objectives:

find out what attention is;

consider the theory of attention;

identify the properties of attention;

determine the main types of attention;

consider the development and defects of attention.

The object of this course work is attention in psychology, and the subject is the psychological essence of attention and its properties.

When writing a term paper, the ideas of such authors as M.M. Ivanova, A.N. Leontiev, R.S. Nemov, V.S. Romanova and others were used.

Main part

attention distraction

1 The concept of attention

1.1 Attention and consciousness

If we single out the common thing that stands behind all examples of the connection between attention and memory, then we cannot do without consciousness. Attention is necessary in order to keep in the mind the momentary perceived, transient - otherwise it will not be able to become the property of memory. More attention is needed in order for the memory to again be in the mind, to rise from the depths of memory. Keeping the image and thought in the mind is behind the joint functioning of attention and perception, attention and thinking.

The problem of the connection between attention and consciousness began to be developed within the framework of tail philosophy. In Eastern philosophy, tradition has a special place for attention to both “concentration” and “correct vision”, “penetration” in achieving enlightenment, true divine wisdom. Without attention, "enlightened consciousness" is impossible. It is no coincidence that the practice and technique of meditation, based on the ultimate concentration of consciousness, is defined in the Eastern religious and philosophical tradition.

In the second half of the 19th century, a line of research began to actively develop in psychology, which notes the connection between attention and consciousness. The first direction is the classical psychology of consciousness, within which a systematic experimental study of attention began. Since then, psychology has developed a number of diverse ideas about the relationship between attention and consciousness, in which attention is assigned different roles.

The most common idea of ​​attention in modern psychology is its interpretation as a mechanism of access to consciousness, which determines what of the perceived and experienced by us at the moment reaches consciousness and will affect our behavior. This process can be represented in different ways. For example, as a kind of manhole, similar to the one through which Carroll's Alice tried to get into the magical garden in Wonderland, but did not fit completely. From the court follows the question: what and why remains outside of consciousness, occupies an important place in the modern psychology of attention.

In the classical psychology of consciousness, several more approaches to considering the relationship between attention and consciousness were identified. Consciousness ceases as a structure similar to the visual field with a focus and periphery, and attention as a part of consciousness, its focus, a zone that has the greatest clarity and reporting of the contents of consciousness. However, here the question arises: how exactly do the individual components of individual experience find themselves in this zone? To answer this question, attention must be represented as a special process of transferring a certain content of consciousness, or its element, to its central part.

Attention can also be considered as one of the properties of consciousness or its inherent features. This property is the degree of subjective clarity of the impressions that are in the mind, which, in the case of a lack of attention, turn out to be vague, and in the case of the utmost attention, they appear to us most clearly.

At the initial stage of the conversation about attention, the connection between attention and consciousness will allow us to approach the description of the subjective phenomena of attention and the fulfillment of the criteria for the presence of this elusive.

Consciousness is the ability to give an account of oneself, and therefore, it is through consciousness that we can know what it means to "be attentive" or "to be inattentive."

1.2 Physiological mechanisms of attention

Great importance have the works of outstanding Russian physiologists A.A. Ukhtomsky and I.P. Pavlov to understand the physiological foundations of attention. The idea put forward by IP Pavlov about the special reactions of an uneven system of orienting reflexes already contained a proposal about the reflex nature of involuntary attention. “We peer into the emerging image, listen to the emerging sounds; we strongly draw in the smell that has touched us ... ”- wrote I.P. Pavlov. Orientation reactions are very complex according to modern data. They are associated with the activity of a significant part of the body. The orienting complex includes both external movements (for example, the head towards the sound) and changes in the sensitivity of certain analyzers; the nature of metabolism changes; breathing changes; cardiovascular and galvanic skin reactions, that is, vegetative changes occur; there are simultaneous changes in the electrical activity of the brain. According to the ideas of I.P. Pavlov and A.A. Ukhtomsky, the phenomena of attention are associated with an increase in the excitability of certain brain structures as a result of the interaction of excitation and inhibition processes. I.P. Pavlov believed that at every moment in the cortex there is some area characterized by the most favorable, optimal conditions for excitation. It is this area that arises according to the law of induction of nervous processes, according to which the nervous processes that concentrate in one area of ​​the cerebral cortex cause inhibition in other areas and vice versa. In the focus of excitation, new conditioned reflexes are easily formed, differentiation is successfully developed, this is currently the “creative department of the cerebral hemispheres”. The focus of optimal excitability is dynamic. "If you could see through cranium and if the place of the cerebral hemispheres with optimal excitability shone, then we would be on a thinking conscious person, as a light spot constantly changing in shape and size of bizarrely irregular outlines moves along his cerebral hemispheres, surrounded by a more or less significant shadow in the rest of the hemisphere space "- wrote I.P. Pavlov. This corresponds to the center of optimal excitation, its “movement” is a physical condition for the dynamics of attention. The position of I.P. Pavlov about the movement of foci of excitation along the cerebral cortex is confirmed by modern experimental studies (data by N.M. Livanov). The dominant principle is important for understanding the physiological mechanisms of attention. In the brain, there is always a dominant, dominant focus of excitation according to A.A. Ukhtomsky. A.A. Ukhtomsky characterizes the dominant as a constellation of "centers with increased excitability." A feature of the dominant as a dominant focus is that it not only suppresses newly emerging foci of excitation, but is also capable of attracting weak excitations to itself, thereby amplifying at the expense of dominating them even more. The dominant is a stable focus of excitation. “The name “dominant” means a more or less stable focus of increased excitability…” wrote A.A. Ukhtomsky. AA Ukhtomsky's ideas about the dominant make it possible to understand the nervous mechanism of prolonged intensive attention. The high efficiency of all cognitive processes with directed concentration is determined by the most favorable conditions for brain activity that arise in centers with increased excitability. In recent years, new results have been obtained in studies by Soviet and foreign scientists that reveal the neurophysiological mechanisms of attention. Attention arises against the background of general wakefulness of the body associated with active brain activity. If active attention is possible in a state of optimal wakefulness, then concentration difficulties arise both against the background of relaxed, diffuse, and against the background of excessive wakefulness. The transition from passive to active attention provides a general activation of the brain. At a certain level of brain activity, attention is possible. Currently, psychophysiology has anatomical, physiological and clinical data that testify to the direct relationship to the phenomena of attention of various structures of the nonspecific brain system (reticular formation, diffuse thalamic system, hypothalamic structure, hippocampus, etc.). The main physiological function of the non-specific system is the regulation of various forms of non-specific activation of the brain (short-term and long-term, general, global and local, limited). It is assumed that involuntary attention is associated primarily with general, generalized forms of nonspecific brain activation. Voluntary attention is associated both with an increase in the general level of brain activation and with significant local shifts in the activity of certain brain structures.

In recent years, ideas about the leading role of the cerebral cortex in the system of neurophysiological mechanisms of attention have begun to play an important role. At the level of the cerebral cortex, attention processes are associated with the presence of a special type of neurons (attention neurons - novelty detectors and setting cells - expectation cells).

It was revealed that in healthy people under conditions of intense attention, there are changes in the bioelectrical activity in the frontal lobes of the brain. In patients with lesions, use verbal instructions to induce sustained voluntary attention. Simultaneously with the weakness of voluntary attention in case of damage to the frontal lobes of the brain, a pathological increase in involuntary forms of attention is noted. Thus, attention is associated with the activity of a number of brain structures, but their role in the regulation of various forms and types of attention is different.

1.3 Orienting reflex

The raticular formation is an accumulation of nerve cells located in the brain stem and is a trace of the nerve pathways connecting the receptors of the sense organs with areas of the cerebral cortex. It is thanks to the raticular formation that a person can be alert, react to the slightest changes in the environment. It also provides the appearance of an orienting reflex. With its ascending and descending fibers, it is a neurophysiological apparatus that provides one of the most important forms of reflex activity, known as the orienting reflex. For understanding the physiological foundations of attention, its importance is especially great.

Each unconditioned reflex, which is based on some biologically important effect for the animal, causes a selective system of responses to the stimulus with simultaneous inhibition of all reactions to side effects. Conditioned reflexes are of the same character. With them, one system of reactions, which is reinforced by an unconditioned stimulus, dominates, while all other side reactions are inhibited. Both unconditioned and conditioned reflexes formed on their basis create a well-known dominant focus of excitation, the flow of which is subject to the dominant.

The orienting reflex manifests itself in a series of distinct electrophysiological, motor and vascular reactions that appear every time something unusual or significant occurs in the environment surrounding the animal. These reactions include: turning the eyes and head towards a new object; alert and listening response.

In humans, the appearance of a galvanic skin reaction, vascular reactions, a change in breathing, and the occurrence of “desynchronization” phenomena in the bioelectrical reactions of the brain, expressed in depression of the “alpha rhythm”. We observe all these phenomena every time when the reaction of alertness, or the orienting reflex, is caused by the appearance of a new or usual stimulus for the subject.

Among scientists there is still no definite answer to the question whether the orienting reflex is an unconditioned or conditioned reaction. By its innate nature, the orienting reflex can be classified as an unconditioned reflex. The animal responds with a reaction of alertness to any new or usual stimuli without any training; according to this feature, the orienting reflex is one of the unconditioned, innate reactions of the body. The presence of certain neurons that respond with discharges to each change in the situation indicates that it is based on the action of special neural devices. On the other hand, the orienting reflex reveals a number of features that significantly distinguish it from ordinary unconditioned reflexes: with repeated use of the same stimulus, the phenomenon of the orienting reflex soon fades away, the body gets used to this stimulus, and its presentation ceases to cause the described reactions - this is the disappearance of the orienting reflex to repeated stimuli is called habituation.

4 Classification of attention theories

One of this direction was N.N. Lange. He proposed a motor theory of attention - a phenomenon in which the internal activity and selectivity of consciousness appear in a concentrated form.

Lange's motor theory of attention was the antipode of the interpretation of attention, which is captured in Wundt's concept of apperception. According to Lange, the initial fundamental is the involuntary behavior of the organism, which has a biological meaning, which lies in the fact that through muscle movements the organism takes the most advantageous position in relation to external objects in order to perceive them as clearly and distinctly as possible.

Lange made involuntary fluctuations in attention during auditory and visual perception the subject of a special experimental study.

This phenomenon and its explanation, proposed by Lange, caused a lively discussion in the psychological literature, in which the leaders of Western psychology were involved - W. Wundt, W. James, T. Ribot, J. Baldwin, G. Munsterberg and others.

Motor theory of attention T. Ribot. he believed that involuntary and voluntary attention are directly related to the duration and intensity of the emotional states associated with the object of attention.

In Ribot's rheory, important attention is paid to the study of the human family tree. With the help of the family tree, Ribot studied the properties of attention, character, memory, and so on for several generations of the same family. Thanks to the genogram, he found that cases of deep and sustained involuntary attention show all the signs of an indefatigable passion, constantly renewed and constantly thirsting for satisfaction.

T. Ribot defines attention as "mental monoideism" accompanied by natural or artificial adjustment of the individual.

Attention is a certain psychophysiological combination, for which the motor and subjective components are necessary elements. Attention is a psychological immobility that is contrary to the normal course of life processes.

Taking into account the importance of physiological correlates of mental processes and states for studying the mechanisms of attention, R.S. Nemov proposes to call the concentration of T. Ribot psychophysiological. As a purely physiological state, attention includes a complex of vascular, motor, respiratory and other voluntary and involuntary reactions.

Intellectual attention is also accompanied by an effort of blood circulation in the organs that provide the processes of thinking. According to T. Ribot, the motor effect of attention consists in the fact that some sensations, thoughts, memories receive special intensity and clarity due to the fact that motor activity is the concentration and delay of movements associated with their adjustment and control. The ability to control movements is precisely the secret of voluntary attention.

According to P. Ya. Galperin, when attention is denied along with other mental functions, this does not affect it in particular. And when attention is identified with other mental phenomena, then the real difficulties of the problem of attention, the impossibility of isolating it, already appear in this. An analysis of such difficulties leads to the conclusion that two cardinal facts underlie the most diverse views on the nature of attention.

The first one. Attention is nowhere as an independent process. It reveals itself both to oneself and to external observation as the direction, attunement and concentration of any mental activity, therefore, only as a side or property of this activity.

Second fact. Attention does not have its own separate product. Its result is the improvement of every activity to which it joins. Meanwhile, it is the presence of a characteristic product that is the main evidence of the presence of the corresponding function. Attention does not have such a product, and this is most of all against the evaluation of attention as a separate form of mental activity.

One cannot deny the significance of such facts and the legitimacy of the conclusion that follows from them and is so discouraging. We always have some kind of inner disagreement with him, and in favor of such a disagreement one could add a number of considerations about the strange and difficult position in which such an understanding of attention places us. But as long as facts are opposed to considerations, and psychology has no other sources of facts than observation, the above facts retain their absolute significance, and the denial of attention as a separate form of mental activity seems both inevitable and justified.

Let us note that this disappearance of the orienting reflex, as one gets used to it, may be a temporary phenomenon, and the slightest change in the stimulus is sufficient for the orienting reaction to arise again. This phenomenon, the occurrence of an orienting reflex with a slight change in irritation, is sometimes called the “awakening” reaction. It is characteristic that such an appearance of an orienting reflex can occur not only with an increase, but also with a weakening of the habitual stimulus and even with its disappearance. Thus, it is sufficient first to "extinguish" the orienting reflexes to rhythmically presented stimuli, and then, after the orienting reactions to each stimulus have died out as a result of habituation, to skip one of the rhythmically presented stimuli. In this case, the absence of the expected stimulus will cause the appearance of an orienting reflex.

5 Development of attention

Cultural development of attention is called that, with the help of an adult, a child learns a number of artificial stimuli-means (signs), with the help of which he further directs his own behavior and attention.

A.N. Leontiev presented the process of age-related development of attention according to the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky. with age, the child's attention improves, but the development of externally mediated attention goes much faster than its development as a whole, especially natural attention.

At school age, there is a turning point in development. It is characterized by the fact that initially externally mediated attention gradually turns into internally mediated attention, and with time this last form of attention probably occupies the main place among all kinds.

The difference in the characteristics of voluntary and involuntary attention increases, this begins with preschool age, and reach a maximum at school age, and then again show a tendency towards equalization. This is due to the fact that in the process of its development, the system of actions that provide voluntary attention gradually turns from external into internal.

A baby from the cradle is surrounded by unknown objects that attract his attention with their brightness or unusual appearance, he also pays attention to his relatives, rejoicing at their appearance in sight or starting to cry so that they take him in their arms.

Close people pronounce words, the meaning of which the child gradually comprehends, they guide him, direct his involuntary attention. That is, his attention early age directed with the help of special stimulus words.

Comprehending active speech, the child begins to control the primary process of his own attention, and first - in relation to other people, orienting their own attention to them in the right direction, and then - in relation to himself.

Initially, the processes of voluntary attention directed by the adult's speech are for the child processes of his external discipline rather than self-regulation. Gradually, using the same means of mastering attention in relation to himself, the child passes to self-control of behavior, that is, to voluntary attention.

The sequence of the main stages in the development of children's attention:

the first weeks - months of life. The appearance of an orienting reflex as an objective, innate sign of the child's involuntary attention;

end of the first year of life. The emergence of orienting-research activity as a means of the future development of voluntary attention;

the beginning of the second year of life. Detection of the rudiments of voluntary attention under the influence of the adult's speech instructions, the direction of the gaze on the object named by the adult;

second or third year of life. A fairly good development of the above initial form of voluntary attention;

four or five years. The emergence of the ability to direct attention under the influence of a complex instruction from an adult;

five or six years. The emergence of an elementary form of voluntary attention under the influence of self-instruction;

school age. Further development and improvement of voluntary attention, including volitional.

2 Main types

2.1 Types of attention

Involuntary attention, in the occurrence of which our intention does not take any part, and arbitrary, arising due to our intention, as a result of our efforts. Therefore, what is remembered is what involuntary attention is directed to, what, it is necessary to remember, is necessary in voluntary attention (see Appendix A).

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

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

Involuntary attention can be useful at work, at home. It gives us the opportunity to timely identify the appearance of an irritant and take the necessary measures.

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.

The reasons for the occurrence of involuntary can be:

unexpected stimulus;

the relative strength of the stimulus;

novelty of the stimulus;

moving objects (T. Ribot singled out this factor, believing that as a result of purposeful activation of visions, concentration and increased attention on the subject occur);

contrast of objects or phenomena;

the inner state of a person.

The French psychologist T. Ribot believed that the nature of involuntary attention occurs in the deep recesses of our being. Direction of involuntary attention this person exposes his character, or at least his aspirations.

Based on this feature, one can conclude that a person is frivolous, banal, narrow-minded, or sincere and deep.

Arbitrary attention is possible only in humans, and it arose due to conscious labor activity. To achieve a specific goal, a person has to deal not only with what is interesting in itself, but with everything that is necessary.

Voluntary attention is more complex and 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 physiological mechanism of voluntary attention is the beginning of optimal excitation in the cerebral cortex, which is supported by signals that come from the second signaling system. From this one can see the role of the word of the parents or the teacher for the formation of voluntary attention in the child.

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

The psychological feature of voluntary attention is its accompaniment by experiencing more and less volitional effort, stress, and prolonged maintenance of voluntary attention causes fatigue, often even more than physical stress.

It is helpful to change a strong concentration of attention with less strenuous work, by switching to easier or more interesting activities, or by creating a strong interest in a person in an activity that requires intense attention.

People make significant efforts of will, concentrate their attention, understand the content necessary for themselves, and then, without volitional tension, carefully follow the material being studied.

This attention now becomes secondarily involuntary, or post-voluntary. It will greatly facilitate the process of the condition of knowledge, and prevent the development of fatigue.

Post-voluntary attention is an active, purposeful concentration of consciousness, which does not require volitional efforts due to a high interest in activity. According to K.K. Platonov, post-voluntary attention is the highest form voluntary attention. The work of a person absorbs him so much that interruptions in it begin to annoy him, as he has to be re-engaged in the process, to work in. Post-voluntary attention occurs in situations where the purpose of the activity is preserved, but there is no need for volitional effort.

N.F. Dobrynin argues that in this case, the direction of activity remains consistent with consciously accepted goals, but its implementation no longer requires conscious mental efforts and is limited in time only by the depletion of the body's resources.

But not all psychologists consider postvoluntary attention independent view, since it resembles voluntary attention in the mechanism of occurrence, and involuntary attention in the way it functions.

2 Main properties

The main properties of attention include: concentration, stability, intensity, volume, switching, distribution (see Appendix B).

Concentration of attention or concentration is the selection by consciousness of an object and directing attention to it. The role of concentrated attention is different. On the one hand, it is necessary for a more complete study of a particular object, and on the other hand, excessive concentration of attention leads to a sharp narrowing of the field of attention, which creates difficulties in the perception of other important objects.

Sustainability of attention is the length of time during which a person can maintain their attention on an object. It is needed in conditions of monotonous and monotonous work, when complex, but the same type of actions are performed for a long time.

Experiments have established that intensive forty-minute attention can be maintained arbitrarily without noticeable weakening and involuntary switching. In the future, the intensity of attention liquefies the faster, the less trained a person is and the less stable his attention is.

One of the important values ​​for achieving success in any activity is concentration and stability of attention, which characterize the depth, duration and intensity of a person's mental activity. It is they that distinguish people who are passionately passionate about their work, who are able to disconnect from numerous side stimuli for the sake of the main thing.

Even with very stable and concentrated attention, there are always short-term involuntary changes in the degree of its intensity, tension - this is a fluctuation of attention.

You can force yourself to read the same text carefully several times if you set new tasks before each repetition.

The amount of attention is the number of objects that a person can be simultaneously aware of when perceiving in connection with any one task. At the same time, you can realize 3-7 objects, although the objects are different. And they don't get the same amount of attention. Much depends on the experience of a person, his professional training, which makes it possible to form a volume of attention that combines several objects into one, more complex one.

For some occupations, high intensity and a high amount of attention are needed almost all the time of work, and motor skills are of much less importance. These professions belong to the psychology of work.

High intensity of concentrated attention for other professions is needed only in some moments of work.

it is the ability to perform several actions at the same time. The distribution depends on the individual characteristics of the individual and on professional skills. No one can do two things at the same time without being able to do each separately.

The ability of a person to keep a certain number of different objects in the center of attention at the same time allows you to perform several actions at once, while maintaining the form of conscious mental activity, and the subjective feeling of the simultaneity of performing several is due to a quick sequential switch from one to another.

W. Wundt showed that a person cannot focus on two limiting stimuli at the same time. But sometimes a person is really able to perform two types of activity at the same time. In fact, in such cases, one of the activities performed must be fully automated, and do not require attention. If this condition is not met, then the combination of activities is impossible.

A large group of professions associated with the management of moving mechanisms is called driving in labor psychology. For them, such qualities of attention as a wide distribution and rapid switching, which determine the success of controlling mechanisms under conditions of multifaceted influence in the conditions of the outside world.

Physiological mechanism distribution of attention is due to the fact that habitual actions that do not cause any difficulties due to already developed strong systems of temporary connections can be controlled by areas of the cortex that are outside of optimal excitation.

The dynamics of any work leads to the need to constantly change the objects to which a person pays attention. This is expressed in switching attention.

Switching is the conscious process of attention from one object to another. The involuntary switching of attention is called distraction.

Physiologically, voluntary switching of attention is explained by the movement of an area with optimal excitability along the cerebral cortex. High mobility of nervous processes as an individual trait of temperament allows you to quickly move from one object to another. In such cases, it is mobile attention.

For example, if a person has insufficient mobility of nerve fibers, then this transition occurs with effort, difficultly and slowly. Such attention is called inert. When a person has poor switchability in general, this is sticky attention. Sometimes poor switching in a person is due to poor preparedness for work.

3 Absence

Absent-mindedness is the inability of a person to focus on anything specific for a long time.

There are two types of absent-mindedness imaginary and genuine. Imaginary absent-mindedness is a person's inattention to the immediate surrounding objects and phenomena, which is caused by the extreme concentration of his attention on some object.

Imaginary absent-mindedness is the result of great concentration and narrowness of attention. Sometimes it is called "professional", as it is often found in people of this category. The attention of a scientist can be so concentrated on the problem that occupies him that he does not pay attention to anything.

Absent-mindedness as a result of internal concentration does not cause much harm to the cause, but it makes it difficult for a person to orient himself in the world around him. Much worse is genuine absent-mindedness. A person suffering from absent-mindedness of this type has difficulty establishing and maintaining voluntary attention on any object or action. To do this, he needs much more willpower than an undistracted person. The voluntary attention of an absent-minded person is very unstable and easily distracted.

The causes of truly distracted attention are very different. The causes of true absent-mindedness may be a general disorder of the nervous system, anemia, diseases of the nasopharynx, which impede the flow of air into the lungs. Sometimes distraction appears as a result of physical and mental fatigue and overwork, any difficult experiences.

One of the reasons for true absent-mindedness is overload with a lot of impressions. Therefore, children should not be allowed to go to the cinema, the theater often during school hours, take them to visit, and be allowed to watch TV every day. Scattered interests can also lead to genuine absent-mindedness.

Many students enroll in several circles at once, take books from many libraries, are fond of collecting and at the same time do nothing seriously. The reason for true absent-mindedness can also be the wrong upbringing of the child in the family: the lack of a regimen in the activities, entertainment and recreation of the child, the fulfillment of all his whims and more. Boring teaching that does not awaken thought, does not affect feelings, does not require effort of will is one of the sources of absent-mindedness of students.

4 Psychologist in KRO classes

The concentration of correctional and developmental education (CRO) in schools, which includes the principle of complex diagnostics, correction and rehabilitation of children with persistent learning difficulties, was developed at the Institute of Developmental Education of the Russian Academy of Education and approved by the RF Ministry of Defense in 1994. The KRO system is a form of differentiation that allows solving the problems of modern active assistance to children with learning difficulties and adaptation to school.

One of the main places in the KRO system is given to the psychologist. The work of a psychologist in the KRO system is not just to provide psychological assistance, support for children with learning difficulties. This is the psychological support of children at all stages of education as a complex process of interaction, the result of which should be the creation of conditions for the development of the child, mastering his activities and behavior, for the formation of readiness for life self-determination, including personal, social and professional aspects.

Producing psychological support for the educational process in the KRO system, the psychologist conducts individual and group preventive, diagnostic, consultative, corrective work with students; expert, advisory, educational work with teachers and parents on the development, education and upbringing of children in a general education institution; participates in the work of the psychological-medical-pedagogical council of the educational institution.

The work of a psychologist in the KRO system cannot proceed in isolation from the work of other specialists of a general education institution. A collegial discussion of the results of the examination by all PMPK specialists makes it possible to develop a unified idea of ​​the nature and characteristics of the child's development, to determine his developmental defects.

Conclusion

So, with the help of our research, we found out that attention is the concentration of the subject's activity at a given moment in time on some real or ideal object. Attention also characterizes the consistency of various links in the functional structure of an action, which determines the success of its implementation. The range of problems in the study of attention stood out as a result of the differentiation of a wider philosophical concept apperceptions. In the developments of Wundt, this concept was attributed to the processes through which a clear awareness of the content of the perceived and its integration into the integral structure of past experience is carried out. A significant contribution to the development of ideas about attention was made by the Russian psychologist Lange, who developed the theory of volitional attention. Like the French psychologist Ribot, he connected attention with the regulation of ideomotor movements.

There are three types of attention. The simplest and genetically initial is involuntary attention. It is passive. The physiological manifestation of this fork of attention is the orienting reaction. If the activity is carried out in line with the conscious intentions of the subject and requires volitional efforts on his part, then they speak of arbitrary attention. As the operational and technical side develops due to its automation and the transition of actions into operations, as well as as a result of changes in motivation, the so-called post-voluntary attention may appear.

Among the characteristics of attention, determined by experimental studies, are selectivity, volume, stability, the possibility of distribution and switchability.

In modern psychology, a theory of attention has been developed as a function of internal control over the correspondence of mental actions to programs for their implementation (P. Ya. Galperin). The development of such control improves the effectiveness of any activity, in particular, its systematic formation, allows you to overcome some defects in attention, such as absent-mindedness.

Glossary

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Attention- this is the orientation and concentration of consciousness on some real or ideal object, suggesting an increase in the level of sensory, intellectual or motor activity of the individual.

Attention has its own organic basis, which is the brain structures that ensure the functioning of attention and are responsible for external manifestations his various characteristics. Among the several billion nerve cells that make up the human brain, there are those that are especially closely related to the work of attention. They are called novelty detector neurons. Such nerve cells differ from others in that they are included in active work only when a person, in his sensations and perception, encounters certain objects and phenomena that are new to him and attract his attention.

Irritants that have become habitual usually do not cause a reaction of cells - detectors of novelty. Such cells, apparently, are responsible for involuntary human attention.

The general state of attention, in particular, such a characteristic of it as stability, is apparently associated with the work of the reticular formation. It is the thinnest network of nerve fibers, which is located deep in the central nervous system between the brain and spinal cord, covering the lower sections of the first and the upper sections of the second. Nerve pathways leading from the peripheral sense organs to the brain and back pass through the reticular formation. The reticular formation also regulates the tone of the cerebral cortex and the sensitivity of receptors, changing the dynamic characteristics of attention: its concentration, stability, etc.

Functions and types of attention

Attention in human life and activity performs many different functions. It activates the necessary and inhibits currently unnecessary psychological and physiological processes, promotes an organized and purposeful selection of information entering the body in accordance with its actual needs, provides a selective and long-term focus of mental activity on the same object or type of activity.

Consider the main types of attention. These are natural and socially conditioned attention, involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention, sensual and intellectual attention.

According to the activity of a person in the organization of attention, three types of attention are distinguished: involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary.

involuntary attention- this is the concentration of consciousness on an object due to its peculiarity as an irritant.
Arbitrary attention is a consciously regulated concentration on an object, directed by the requirements of activity. With voluntary attention, the focus is not only on what is emotionally pleasing, but to a greater extent on what should be done. After about 20 minutes, a person gets tired using this kind of attention.

Involuntary attention is not associated with the participation of the will, and voluntary attention necessarily includes volitional regulation. Finally, voluntary attention, in contrast to involuntary attention, is usually associated with a struggle of motives or motives, the presence of strong, oppositely directed and competing interests, each of which is capable of attracting and holding attention in itself.

In this case, a person makes a conscious choice of a goal and, by an effort of will, suppresses one of the interests, directing all his attention to satisfying the other. But such a case is also possible when voluntary attention is preserved, and efforts of the will to maintain it are no longer required. This happens if a person is passionate about work. Such attention is called post-voluntary.

According to its psychological characteristics, post-voluntary attention has features that bring it closer to involuntary attention, but there is also a significant difference between them. Post-voluntary attention arises on the basis of interest, but this is not an interest stimulated by the characteristics of the subject, but a manifestation of the orientation of the individual. With post-voluntary attention, the activity itself is experienced as a need, and its result is personally significant. Post-voluntary attention can last for hours.

The considered three types of attention in the practical activity of a person are closely intertwined with mutual transitions and rely on one another.

natural attention given to a person from his very birth, in the form of an innate ability to selectively respond to certain external or internal stimuli that carry elements of informational novelty. The main mechanism that ensures the work of such attention is called the orienting reflex. It, as we have already noted, is associated with the activity of the reticular formation and neurons - novelty detectors.

socially conditioned attention develops in vivo as a result of training and education, is associated with volitional regulation of behavior, with a selective conscious response to objects.

immediate 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.

mediated attention regulated with the help of special means, for example, gestures, words, signs, objects.

sensual attention predominantly associated with emotions and the selective work of the senses.
Intellectual attention is associated with concentration and direction of thought.
In sensory attention, a sensory impression is at the center of consciousness, while in intellectual attention, the object of interest is a thought.

Attention Properties

Attention has certain parameters and features, which are largely a characteristic of human abilities and capabilities. The main properties of attention usually include the following.


1. concentration. This is an indicator of the degree of concentration of consciousness on a particular object, the intensity of communication with it. Concentration of attention means that a temporary center (focus) of all psychological activity of a person is formed.

2. Intensity attention is a quality that determines the effectiveness of perception, thinking, memory and clarity of consciousness in general. The greater the interest in an activity (the greater the consciousness of its significance) and the more difficult the activity (the less familiar it is to a person), the greater the influence of distracting stimuli, the more intense the attention will be.

3. Sustainability. The ability to maintain high levels of concentration and intensity of attention for a long time. It is determined by the type of the nervous system, temperament, motivation (novelty, importance of needs, personal interests), as well as external conditions of human activity. Stability of attention is maintained not only by the novelty of incoming stimuli, but also by their repetition. The stability of attention is associated with its dynamic characteristics: fluctuations and switchability. Attention fluctuations are understood as periodic short-term involuntary changes in the degree of attention intensity. Fluctuations in attention are manifested in a temporary change in the intensity of sensations. So, listening to a very weak, barely audible sound, for example, the ticking of a clock, a person first notices the sound, then stops noticing it. Such fluctuations of attention can be carried out with different periods, from 2-3 to 12 seconds. The longest oscillations were observed upon presentation of sound stimuli, then upon presentation of visual stimuli, and the shortest, upon presentation of tactile stimuli.

4. Volume- an indicator of the number of homogeneous stimuli that are in the focus of attention (for an adult, from 4 to 6 objects, for a child, no more than 2-3). The amount of attention depends not only on genetic factors and on the ability of an individual's short-term memory. The characteristics of the perceived objects (their homogeneity, interconnections) and the professional skills of the subject himself also matter.

5. Switching attention is understood as the possibility of a more or less easy and fairly quick transition from one type of activity to another. Switching is also functionally related to two processes in different directions: turning attention on and off. Switching can be arbitrary, then its speed is an indicator of the degree of the subject's volitional control over his perception and involuntary, associated with distraction, which is either an indicator of the degree of mental instability or indicates the appearance of strong unexpected stimuli.

Switching efficiency depends on the characteristics of the previous and subsequent activities (switching indicators decrease significantly when moving from easy to difficult activity, and they increase with the reverse bariant). The success of the switch is related to the person's attitude to the previous activity, the more interesting the previous activity and the less interesting the next one, the more difficult the switch. There are significant individual differences in switchability, which is associated with such a feature of the nervous system as the mobility of nervous processes.

Many modern professions (weavers, mechanics, managers, operators, etc.), where a person deals with frequent and sudden changes in the objects of activity, place high demands on the ability to switch attention.

Of great importance is the switching of attention in the educational process. The need to switch the attention of students is due to the peculiarities of the process itself: the change of various subjects during the day, the sequence of stages in the study of material in the classroom, which involves a change in the types and forms of activity.

Unlike conscious switching of attention, distraction is an involuntary disconnection of attention from the main activity to extraneous objects. Distractions have a negative effect on work performance. The distracting effect of extraneous stimuli depends on the nature of the work performed. Sudden, intermittent, unexpected stimuli, as well as those associated with emotions, are very distracting. With prolonged performance of monotonous work, the effect of side stimuli intensifies as fatigue increases. The distracting effect of extraneous stimuli is more pronounced in mental activity that is not associated with external supports. It is stronger with auditory perception than with visual perception.

The ability to withstand distractions is called noise immunity. In the development of this ability in humans, significant individual differences are observed, due both to differences in the nervous system, namely, its strength, and special training aimed at increasing noise immunity.

6. Distribution, that is, the ability to focus on several objects at the same time. At the same time, several focuses (centers) of attention are formed, which makes it possible to perform several actions or monitor several processes at the same time, without losing any of them from the field of attention.

In complex modern types of labor, activity can consist of several different, but simultaneously occurring processes (actions), each of which corresponds to different tasks. For example, a weaver working on a loom must carry out numerous control and management operations. This is typical for the activities of seamstresses, drivers, operators and other professions. In all such activities, the worker needs to distribute attention, i.e. simultaneously focus on various processes(objects). An exceptional role is played by the ability to distribute attention in the activities of the teacher. So, for example, while explaining the material in the lesson, the teacher must simultaneously monitor his speech and the logic of presentation and observe how students perceive the material.

The level of distribution of attention depends on a number of conditions: on the nature of the combined activities (they can be homogeneous and different), on their complexity (and, in this regard, on the degree of mental stress required), on the degree of familiarity and familiarity with them (on the level of mastering the basic techniques activities). The more complex the combined activities, the more difficult it is to distribute attention. When combining mental and motor activity, the productivity of mental activity can decrease to a greater extent than that of motor activity.

It is difficult to combine two types of mental activity. The distribution of attention is possible if each of the activities performed is familiar to a person, and one of them is familiar to some extent, automated (or can be automated). The less automated one of the combined activities, the weaker the distribution of attention. If one of the activities is fully automated and only periodic control of consciousness is required for its successful implementation, a complex form of attention is noted - a combination of switching and distribution.

Development of attention

Attention as a mental process, expressed in the orientation of consciousness to certain objects, often manifesting itself, gradually turns into a stable property of the individual - mindfulness. At the same time, the range of objects can be limited to one or another type of activity (and then they talk about the attentiveness of the individual in this type of activity, most often this is a professional activity), it can extend to all types of activity (in this case, they say about attentiveness as common property personality). People vary in the degree of development of this property, the extreme case is often called inattention. It is practically important for an engineer to know not only what the level of mindfulness formation among workers is, but also the reasons for his inattention, since attention is associated with cognitive processes and the emotional-volitional sphere of the individual.

Depending on the forms of inattention, we can speak of three types of it. The first type - absent-mindedness - occurs with distractibility and a very low intensity of attention, excessively easily and involuntarily switching from object to object, but not lingering on any one. This type of inattention is figuratively called "fluttering" attention. Such inattention in a person is the result of a lack of skills for concentrated work. Another type of inattention is determined by high intensity and difficult shifting of attention. Such inattention may arise due to the fact that a person's attention is focused on some events or phenomena that have previously occurred or met him, which he emotionally perceived. The third type of inattention is the result of overwork, this type of inattention is due to a permanent or temporary decrease in the strength and mobility of nervous processes. It is characterized by a very weak concentration of attention and even weaker switching.

The formation of mindfulness consists in managing the attention of a person in the process of his labor and educational activities. At the same time, it is necessary to create conditions that would contribute to the formation of his attention: to accustom him to work in a variety of conditions, not succumbing to the influence of distracting factors; exercise voluntary attention; to achieve awareness of the social significance of the type of work being mastered and a sense of responsibility for the work performed; associate attention with the requirements of the discipline of industrial labor, etc.

The volume and distribution of attention should be formed as a certain labor skill of simultaneous performance of several actions in conditions of an increasing pace of work.

The development of stability of attention must be ensured by the formation of volitional qualities of the individual. For the development of switching attention, it is necessary to select appropriate exercises with a preliminary explanation of the "switching routes". A prerequisite for the formation of mindfulness in a person is under no circumstances to allow him to do any work carelessly.

Attention- this is the focus and concentration of consciousness on a specific object or some activity.

Main types of attention:

1.natural and socially conditioned attention,

2. direct and indirect attention,

3.involuntary and voluntary attention,

· 4.sensual and intellectual attention.

1. Natural attention- given to a person from his very birth in the form of an innate ability to selectively respond to certain external or internal stimuli that carry elements of informational novelty (orienting reflex).

socially conditioned attention- develops in vivo as a result of training and education, is associated with volitional regulation of behavior, with a selective conscious response to objects.

2. Immediate attention- this is the concentration of consciousness on an object due to some of its features (the intensity of the stimulus, the novelty of objects and phenomena). It 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.

mediated attention- regulated by special means, such as gestures, words, signs, objects.

3. Involuntary attention- not connected with the participation of the will, does not require efforts in order to hold and focus attention on something for a certain time.

Arbitrary attention is a consciously regulated focus on an object. It necessarily includes volitional regulation, it requires efforts to hold and focus attention on something for a certain time, it is usually associated with a struggle of motives or motives, the presence of strong, oppositely directed and competing interests,

4. Sensual attention - associated with emotions and the selective work of the senses, in the center of consciousness is any sensory impression.

intellectual attention- mainly associated with the concentration and direction of thought, the object of interest is the thought.

Five basic properties of attention:

1. stability,

2. concentration,

3. switchability,

4. distribution,

1. Stability of attention- the ability for a long time to maintain a state of attention on any object, subject of activity, without being distracted and without weakening attention.

2. Concentration of attention(opposite quality - absent-mindedness) - manifests itself in differences, in the degree of concentration of attention on some objects and its distraction from others.

3. Switching attention- transfer of attention from one object to another, from one type of activity to another. It manifests itself in the speed with which he can transfer his attention from one object to another, and such a transfer can be both involuntary and arbitrary.

4. Distribution of attention- the ability to disperse attention over a large space, simultaneously perform several types of activities or perform several different actions.

5.Scope of attention- the amount of information that can simultaneously be stored in the sphere of increased attention (consciousness) of a person.

The numerical characteristic of the average amount of attention of people is 5-7 units of information.

Attention functions:

activates the necessary and inhibits currently unnecessary psychological and physiological processes,

promotes an organized and purposeful selection of information entering the body in accordance with its actual needs,

Provides selective and long-term concentration of mental activity on one and the same object or type of activity.

determines the accuracy and detail of perception,

determines the strength and selectivity of memory,

determines the direction and productivity of mental activity.

· is a kind of amplifier for perceptual processes, allowing to distinguish the details of images.

acts for human memory as a factor capable of retaining the necessary information in short-term and short-term memory, as a prerequisite for transferring memorized material into long-term memory storage.

for thinking acts as a mandatory factor in the correct understanding and solution of the problem.

· in the system of interpersonal relations, it contributes to better mutual understanding, adaptation of people to each other, prevention and timely resolution of interpersonal conflicts.

An attentive person is spoken of as a pleasant conversationalist, a tactful and delicate communication partner.

· attentive person learns better and more successfully, achieves more in life than an insufficiently attentive one.

The implementation of any activity requires attention from a person. Even in play, children must constantly keep their attention on the relevant rules, on-going events and their dynamics. Often they are so focused on this that it is difficult for them to shift their attention to anything else. All types of work require sustained attention. The inability to keep attention on the object of labor activity leads to a decrease in the quality of the product. Without focused attention, it is impossible to achieve high results in art, sports and learning. If the student is not focused on the perception of educational material, he will not be able to understand it, highlight the main thing in it and remember it. Appeals: "Be careful!" are able to hold attention only for a short time, after which many children (and adults) are again and inevitably distracted. Managing the attention of students is one of the important tasks that the teacher solves in one way or another during the lesson.

At any given moment, our consciousness is directed to one or another specific object. A person either perceives something, or thinks about something, remembers something or imagines something.

Attention- this is the selective orientation and concentration of a person's consciousness on a specific object that has a stable or situational significance for the individual, while simultaneously distracting from other objects.

Attention can be directed both to external objects of reality ( outside attention) as well as your inner world inner attention).

Attention is manifested as a special state of the whole organism, in which the internal mental activity, external motor activity, as well as the activity of the brain (physiological level of attention) change. Mental activity focuses on the object. The motor side of attention is manifested in specific postures of attention. With external and internal attention, postures differ. External attention is characterized by a turn of the head and a gaze focused on the object, holding the breath is possible. With internal attention, a person often closes his eyes or his gaze hovers, not concentrating on anything. By these characteristic features, the teacher can determine whether the student's attention is directed to the content of the lesson or whether he is thinking about something of his own.

At the physiological level, attention is provided by the excitation of the reticular formation as a mechanism for activating brain activity; induction of nervous processes and emergence dominants.

The concept of induction was widely used by IP Pavlov to explain the patterns of higher nervous activity.

Induction It manifests itself in the fact that the process of excitation that occurs in one area of ​​the cerebral cortex causes inhibition in its other areas.

Dominant called a focus of excitation temporarily dominant in the cerebral cortex, inhibiting other reflexes and intensifying under the action of any stimuli.

The phenomenon of the dominant was discovered by the Russian physiologist A. A. Ukhtomsky (1875–1942).

attention functions. The main function of attention is establishing a psychological connection between the subject and the object, to which his consciousness is currently directed, and ensuring the clarity and clarity of the reflection of the object.

example

If the student, when doing homework will be distracted, imagining, for example, upcoming sports competitions, he may make mistakes, make omissions, not notice details. As a result, his activities will be ineffective, and the task will be performed poorly.

The second function of attention is manifested in the fact that it carries out selection and systematization of perceptual data. The external world is infinite, and human consciousness is limited. Attention, like a filter, allows only the most important information to enter the mind, so the process of attention is often compared to a funnel or bottleneck.

Another important function of attention is considered to be improving the quality of the activity to which it is directed. However, it is possible that the participation of attention has a destructive effect on the activity if it is connected to the activity that was previously automated and fixed.

Attention functions in various fields human consciousness: sensual, mnemonic, intellectual. It does not have its own product. On this basis, some psychologists considered it expedient not to use the concept of "attention" at all. Danish psychologist E. Rubin even wrote a scientific article entitled "Non-existence of attention." One can disagree with such an "interpretation" of attention, if one admits that its specific product is improvement in performance. Attention provides completeness and depth of perception, memory, thinking and imagination and thus acts as a condition for the success of cognition of the surrounding reality. In this sense, K. D. Ushinsky called attention the door through which all knowledge and impressions from the outside world pass. The more clearly an object appears in the mind of a person, the more active and productive becomes his activity with it, which, in turn, ensures its deeper knowledge.

Establishing a connection between human consciousness and the reflected object is a two-way, interdependent process. On the one hand, the object attracts attention to itself, on the other hand, attention is directed to the object. Accordingly, the factors for the emergence and retention of attention on an object can be both the properties of the object itself and the characteristics of the subject. Some people are more subject to direct influences. environment and show passivity in the choice of objects of attention, others are more active in this regard. Depending on the ratio of such factors, the role of the individual in the regulation of attention can be different: from almost complete passivity to complete consciousness and self-organization. These differences are expressed in the classification of types of attention.

types of attention. There are three types of attention: involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary.

involuntary, or unintentional, Attention- this is the focus of consciousness on an object or phenomenon due to some of their features. The ability for such attention is innate in a person, in connection with which L. S. Vygotsky called him natural. This kind of attention is inherent in both humans and animals. We can observe postures of attention in the latter, for example, when obtaining food or protecting from enemies.

The mechanism of involuntary attention - orientation reflex. I.P. Pavlov designated it as "what is it?", because it manifests itself as an initial reaction to a new stimulus, allowing you to tune the organs of sensitivity to the perception of a new object and make a decision regarding its usefulness or danger to the body.

Involuntary attention can occur with varying degrees of passivity of a person. At the extreme degree of passivity, it is called forced. N. F. Dobrynin (1890-1981) pointed out that the individuality and originality of the personality have a certain influence even in situations of forced attention. Factors that cause involuntary attention are divided into two groups:

• The first group consists of the properties and characteristics of stimuli. First of all, this new intense stimuli. A new building, a new thing, a new advertisement always attracts our attention. A loud sound, a bright flash, a strong push will also make you draw attention to yourself. Other factors in this group are the duration of the stimulus, its movement, contrast compared to the background. A change in the characteristics of acting stimuli, such as strength or duration, the beginning and end of an action, also causes attention;
• the second group of stimuli that cause involuntary attention is characterized by their connection with the needs and interests of the subject. If something is especially significant for a person, it will be in the sphere of his attention. For example, a collector will never pass by the objects of his passion, while other people remain indifferent to them.

example

Factors that cause involuntary attention are taken into account in architecture, construction, advertising, printing and other areas. They also play an important role in the organization of educational and cognitive activity of students, for example, in the selection and presentation of educational material in such a way as to direct attention to the necessary objects and not distract from the main content of the lesson. Interest in a subject is able to maintain for a long time high level involuntary attention. Bright, emotionally rich material always arouses involuntary attention in students. This is especially important for elementary school, since in younger students arbitrary cognitive processes (perception, attention, memory) are still in the formative stage.

With the expansion of educational subjects and the complexity of educational material, reliance on involuntary attention becomes insufficient for the effective organization of the processes of mastering knowledge. Not all subjects are of interest to students. Many of them have significant difficulties in understanding the material and completing the learning tasks. Overcoming them requires will and voluntary attention from students.

Arbitrary attention- this is an organized focus of consciousness on an object or phenomenon. Arbitrary attention arose in the process of labor when it was necessary to focus not on what was pleasant or interesting, but on what needed to be done at the moment; which is essential for the successful completion of the action. L. S. Vygotsky showed that voluntary attention, which he called cultural, in contrast to the involuntary - the process is mediated, i.e. carried out with the help of means: signs, speech, the task. A child can master these means only in society, in the process of communication and joint activities with adults. Arbitrary attention, as well as arbitrary perception, arbitrary memory, verbal-logical thinking, refers to the highest mental functions of a person.

example

In ontogenesis, the development of voluntary attention is carried out gradually. First, adults, with the help of verbal instructions, pointing to the desired object and setting a cognitive or practical task for the child, organize his attention and activity. Then he masters the ability to independently set a task for himself and direct attention to the desired object. Keeping attention on an object or actions with it, determined by the task, requires volitional efforts and activity of the individual, since a person consciously makes a decision and executes it. It is well known how difficult it is to maintain attention when studying complex and incomprehensible material or in the conditions of monotonous and monotonous activity. In such situations, a person not only makes efforts to keep the object of attention, but also experiences these efforts. L. S. Vygotsky associated such an inner experience of efforts with the process of mastering a person’s attention, a kind of struggle and victory over those factors and stimuli that direct attention to other objects. There are certain techniques in organizing activities that can make this process easier for students, for example, alternating various kinds activities, dosed assistance, active recreation.

Psychological content of voluntary attention was revealed by P. Ya. Galperin, the author of the theory of systematic, phased formation mental actions. He showed that mental actions are the result of internalization, generalization and reduction. Managing an action based on an image requires control: a constant comparison of the task with its execution. In the initial forms, control is carried out as a detailed objective action. The transformation of control into a mental and reduced action changes its nature and functions. Mental control over the course of activity ensures the focus and concentration of consciousness on its implementation and result, i.e. is attention. Such control no longer simply evaluates the activity and its result (as happens with external detailed control), but also improves them. This is due to the fact that attention

the action of mental control is carried out on the basis of previously formed criteria, images and concepts, to which the actions performed are equated, since the person understands how to act in this situation and systematically performs the required actions. External control through speech passes into the mental plane and, reduced, becomes attention.

example

The teacher can purposefully teach the child attention. To do this, along with the main tasks, students should be given special exercises to check the work done, indicating criteria, samples, a general plan and a sequence of specific actions.

Post-voluntary attention arises when, in the course of an initially unattractive activity, a person becomes interested in work. Volitional efforts for its continuation are no longer required, which brings post-voluntary attention closer to involuntary. However, unlike involuntary attention, post-voluntary attention is regulated by a consciously set goal and is carried out systematically, playing an important role as a factor contributing to the performance of difficult tasks by students for a long time. At the same time, they do not experience fatigue due to the lack of the need for strong-willed efforts. Fatigue is replaced by a sense of satisfaction and joy of knowledge. The reason for such a psychological reorganization of personality and activity is the complex phenomenon of shifting the motive to the goal (see § 7.1).

When organizing learning activities, it is important to rely on all three types of attention, managing their dynamics and using the advantages of each type.

Human attention - features of development

23.03.2015

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 focus 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, a new person or a phenomenon that appeared before the eyes, any moving objects, the mental state of a person, 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, charging. 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 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, which, in terms of importance, are approximately in the same position. 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 techniques for developing attention that allow you to achieve high results and learn how 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 the significant features of 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. First, you will begin to develop a general idea of ​​​​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 birds singing 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 on different objects across the board and do it every day. Agree, it’s not difficult to devote 5-10 minutes a day to 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, to notice even the smallest details.