The main theoretical issues of the problem of voluntary attention of younger students. Attention. An exceptionally large role in the life and activity of a person is played by his cognitive sphere, which includes a set of mental processes: attention
The properties of attention - direction, volume, distribution, concentration, intensity, stability and switchability - are associated with the structure of human activity. At the initial stage of activity, during the implementation of a general orientation, when the objects of this situation are still equivalent, the main feature of attention is the breadth, evenly distributed focus of consciousness on several objects. At this stage of activity, there is still no stability of attention.
But this quality becomes essential when the most significant for this activity are identified from the available objects. Mental processes are concentrated on these objects.
Depending on the significance of the activity, mental processes become more intense. The duration of the action necessitates the stability of mental processes.
Attention span is the number of objects that a person can be aware of at the same time with the same degree of clarity.
If an observer is shown a number of objects at the same time for a short time, then it turns out that people cover four or five objects with their attention. The amount of attention depends on the professional activity of a person, his experience, mental development. The amount of attention increases significantly if the objects are grouped, systematized.
The volume of attention is somewhat less than the volume of awareness, because along with a distinct reflection of objects in our minds, at every moment there is an indistinct awareness of many other objects (up to several dozen).
The distribution of attention is the focus of consciousness on the performance of several simultaneous actions. The distribution of attention depends on experience, skills and abilities. A novice driver tensely regulates the movement of the car, he can hardly take his eyes off the road to look at the instruments, and is in no way inclined to carry on a conversation with an interlocutor. It is very difficult for a novice cyclist to pedal, maintain balance and follow the features of the road at the same time. Acquiring the appropriate stable skills during the exercise, a person begins to perform certain actions semi-automatically: they are regulated by those parts of the brain that are not in a state of optimal excitation. This makes it possible to perform several actions at the same time, while any new action requires the full concentration of consciousness.
Concentration of attention - the degree of concentration of consciousness on one object, the intensity of the focus of consciousness on this object.
Attention switchability - the speed of an arbitrary change of objects of mental processes. This quality of attention largely depends on the individual characteristics of the higher nervous activity of a person - the balance and mobility of nervous processes. Depending on the type of higher nervous activity, the attention of some people is more mobile, while others are less mobile. This individual feature of attention should be taken into account when professional selection. Frequent shifts of attention represent a significant mental difficulty, causing overwork of the central nervous system.
Sustainability of attention - the duration of the concentration of mental processes on one object. It depends on the significance of the object, on the nature of actions with it and on the individual characteristics of the person.
Not a single mental process can proceed purposefully and productively if a person does not focus his attention on what he perceives or does. We can look at an object and not notice it or see it very poorly. Busy with his own thoughts, a person does not hear the conversations that are taking place next to him, although the sounds of voices reach his hearing aid. We may not feel pain if our attention is directed to something else. On the contrary, having deeply concentrated on any subject or activity, a person notices all the details of this subject and acts very productively. And by fixing our attention on sensations, we increase our sensitivity.
Two processes can occur in the cerebral cortex of the brain: excitation and inhibition. When a person is attentive to something, this means that a focus of excitation has arisen in his cerebral cortex. The rest of the brain at this time are in a state of inhibition. Therefore, a person who is focused on one thing may not notice anything else at that moment.
The activity of the unexcited parts of the brain is associated at this time with what is usually called unconscious, automatic human activity.
Of great importance for the appearance of attention is the so-called orienting reflex. It is an innate reaction of the body to any change in the environment.
The ability to be alert, sometimes reacting to a very slight change in environment, is explained by the presence in the cerebral hemispheres of a network of nerve pathways connecting the reticular formation (a set of brain structures that regulate the level of excitability) with different parts of the cerebral cortex. nerve impulses, going through this network, arise along with signals from the senses and excite the cortex, bringing it into a state of readiness to respond to expected further irritations. Thus, the reticular formation, together with the sense organs, causes the appearance of an orienting reflex, which is the primary physiological basis of attention.
With absent-mindedness, a person's consciousness does not have a specific direction, but passes from one object to another, i.e. dissipates.
There are two main types of dispersion. The first is the result of a general instability of attention. They are usually distinguished by children younger age. However, it can also occur in adults as a result of weakness of the nervous system or great fatigue, lack of sleep, etc. This kind of absent-mindedness also appears in the absence of the habit of working with concentration.
The second type of absent-mindedness has a completely different character. It arises because a person is focused on one thing and therefore does not notice anything else. Such absent-mindedness is distinguished by people who are passionate about their work.
If a person gets used to doing everything attentively, then attention, becoming a permanent feature, develops into attentiveness, which, as a personality trait, has great importance in the general psychological makeup of a person. One who possesses this quality is distinguished by observation, the ability to better perceive the environment. An attentive person reacts to events faster and often experiences them more deeply, and is distinguished by a great ability to learn.
Mindfulness is associated with a great development of the properties of attention: its volume, concentration, stability, distribution. Possessing this quality, a person easily concentrates, he has a well-developed involuntary attention. Even in the absence of interest in work, an attentive person can quickly mobilize voluntary attention, force himself to focus on a difficult and uninteresting occupation.
Usually outstanding scientists, writers, inventors, creative people in general are attentive. Here you can name Darwin, Pavlov, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky.
3. Formation of involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention in the learning process
Attention, like all other mental processes, has lower and higher forms. The former are represented by involuntary attention, while the latter are arbitrary.
If the teacher's lecture is interesting in content, then the students, without any effort, listen to it carefully. This is a manifestation of the so-called involuntary attention. It often appears in a person not only without any volitional efforts, but also without the intention to see, hear, etc. anything. Therefore, this type of attention is also called unintentional.
What causes involuntary attention?
There are several reasons for this:
1. Relative strength of the stimulus;
2. The surprise of the stimulus;
3. Moving objects. The French psychologist T. Ribot especially singled out this factor, he believed that it was due to the purposeful activation of movements that concentration and increased attention on the subject occur;
4. Novelty of the stimulus;
5. Contrasting objects or phenomena;
6. The internal state of a person.
The so-called voluntary attention has a different character. It arises because a person has a goal, an intention to perceive or do something. This kind of attention is also called intentional. Arbitrary attention has a volitional character.
Psychologists still have a third type of attention that occurs after certain volitional efforts, but when a person, as it were, "enters" the work, he begins to easily focus on it. The Soviet psychologist N. F. Dobrynin called such attention post-voluntary (or secondary), since it replaces the usual voluntary attention.
If the condition for the appearance of involuntary attention is, as was said, the qualities of external stimuli and the characteristics of the internal state of a person (his needs, interests), then a conscious attitude to activity is necessary for the appearance and maintenance of voluntary attention. However, it often happens that this conscious attitude is present, the goal is clear and the achievement of it is recognized as absolutely necessary, nevertheless, a person cannot work with concentration. This is the case with people with a weakly developed will, who are not accustomed to making a certain effort to be attentive.
The frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex are associated with all voluntary conscious activity, with the functioning of speech. This indicates the essence of attention as a way of functioning of the entire consciousness.
Mental processes can have an involuntary (not dependent on the will) orientation. In these cases, they are organized in the form of involuntary (unintentional) attention. So, a sharp, unexpected signal causes attention against our will.
But the main form of organization of mental processes is voluntary (deliberate) attention, characterized by systematic
Orientation of consciousness. Arbitrary attention is due to the isolation of significant information.
The ability to arbitrarily direct mental activity is one of the main features of human consciousness. In the process of activity, voluntary attention can turn into post-voluntary attention, which does not require constant volitional efforts. A person's attention is formed from birth, and in the process of its formation, an interconnected development of memory, speech, etc. takes place. Stages of development:
1. The first two weeks of life - the manifestation of the orienting reflex as an objective, innate sign of the child's involuntary attention.
2. The end of the first year of life - the emergence of tentative research activity as a means of the future development of voluntary attention.
3. The beginning of the second year of life - the beginnings of voluntary attention under the influence of adult speech instructions.
4. The second - third year of life - the development of voluntary attention.
5. Four and a half - five years - directing attention to the complex instructions of an adult.
6. Five - six years - the emergence of an elementary form of voluntary attention under the influence of self-instructions.
7. School age- development and improvement of voluntary attention.
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- Introduction
- Conclusion
Introduction
No other mental process is mentioned so often in Everyday life and does not find a place for himself with such difficulty within the framework psychological concepts like attention. Often attention explains success in study and work, and inattention explains mistakes, blunders and failures. Features of attention are necessarily diagnosed when children are admitted to school, when they are selected for a wide variety of professional activities, and also to determine the current state of a person. However, in scientific psychology, the problem of attention stands somewhat apart, and researchers have significant difficulties in interpreting this concept and the phenomena behind it. This situation is connected with two important points. First, many authors emphasize the "dependence" of attention as a mental process. Attention, at first glance, nowhere appears in isolation from other phenomena and does not have its own separate specific product. Secondly, attention is a mental instrument of the subject's activity, allowing him not to be a toy. external influences when interacting with the environment.
Attention can be defined as a psychophysiological process, a state that characterizes the dynamic features cognitive activity. They are expressed in its focus on comparatively narrow section external or internal reality, which on this moment time become conscious and concentrate on themselves the mental and physical forces of a person for a certain period of time.
Attention is a process of conscious or unconscious (semi-conscious) selection of one information coming through the senses and ignoring the other. Attention has no content of its own. It is included in other mental processes: sensations and perceptions, ideas, memory, thinking, imagination, emotions and feelings, manifestations of the will. Attention is also included in practical, in particular, motor actions of people, in their behavioral acts - actions. This ensures clarity and distinctness of the reflection of reality, which is one of the necessary conditions for the success of any activity.
Chapter 1
Characterizing attention as a complex mental phenomenon, a number of attention functions are distinguished. The essence of attention is manifested primarily in the selection of significant, relevant, i.e. corresponding to the needs, relevant to this activity, impacts and ignoring (slowing down, eliminating) other - insignificant, side, competing impacts. Along with the selection function, the function of retention (preservation) of this activity (preservation in the mind of images, a certain subject content) is singled out until the act of behavior is completed, cognitive activity until the goal is achieved. One of the most important functions of attention is the regulation and control of the course of activity.
Attention can be manifested both in sensory and mnemonic, mental and motor processes. Sensory attention is associated with the perception of stimuli of different modality (type). In this regard, visual and auditory sensory attention is distinguished. The objects of intellectual attention as its highest form are memories and thoughts. The most studied sensory attention. In fact, all the data characterizing attention were obtained in the study of this type of attention.
Properties of attention - volume, concentration, distribution, stability, fluctuation, switchability, selectivity.
1. Attention span measured by the number of objects that are perceived simultaneously. Objects united in meaning are perceived in more than not combined. In an adult, the amount of attention is 4-6 objects.
An important and defining feature of the volume of attention is that it is practically not amenable to regulation during training and training. For example, they tried to train pilots to fly the plane very low (at an altitude of 50-100 m above the ground) and at the same time look for small-sized landmarks on the ground. A study of the actions of pilots under these conditions showed the impossibility of dividing attention between the two indicated independent actions, since each of them required maximum attention. The difficulties of the pilot lay in the practical impossibility of switching attention and organizing the collection of information in such a way as to ensure the fulfillment of both tasks. It was not possible to overcome this difficulty by training.
2. Focus is the degree of concentration of consciousness on the object (objects). The smaller the circle of objects of attention, than less plot perceived form, the more concentrated attention.
Concentration of attention provides an in-depth study of cognizable objects and phenomena, brings clarity to a person's idea of a particular subject, its purpose, design, form.
Concentration, focus of attention can be successfully developed under the influence of specially organized work on the development of these qualities.
3. Distribution of attention expressed in the ability to simultaneously perform several actions or monitor several processes, objects. In some professions, the distribution of attention becomes especially important. Such professions are the professions of a driver, a pilot, a teacher.
It is this quality that makes it possible to perform several actions at once, keeping them in the field of attention. Many have heard about the phenomenal abilities of Julius Caesar, who, according to legend, could do seven unrelated things at the same time. It is also known that Napoleon could simultaneously dictate seven important diplomatic documents to his secretaries. However, there is every reason to assume that only one type of conscious mental activity occurs at the same time, and the subjective feeling of the simultaneous execution of several is due to the rapid sequential switching from one to another. Even the works of Wundt showed that a person cannot focus on two stimuli presented simultaneously, the distribution of attention is actually carried out by its rapid transfer. Sometimes it seems that a person performs two activities at the same time. In fact, in such cases, one of them is so automated that it does not require attention. But if this is not the case, then the combination is impossible. For example, it is useless to ask an untrained person walking on a balance beam to solve the simplest arithmetic problem - he will not be able to do it, while an experienced gymnast easily coped with the distribution of attention necessary for the corresponding mental operations. Thus, the distribution of attention, in essence, is the reverse side of its switchability. From the point of view of physiology, the distribution of attention is explained by the fact that, in the presence of optimal excitability in the cerebral cortex, in some of its areas there is only partial inhibition, as a result of which these areas are able to control simultaneously performed actions. The better a person has mastered actions, the easier it is for him to simultaneously perform them.
4. Sustained attention does not mean the concentration of consciousness during the whole time on a specific object or its separate part, side. Sustainability is understood as the general focus of attention in the process of activity. Interest has a significant influence on the stability of attention. A necessary condition for the stability of attention is the variety of impressions or actions performed. Repetitive actions reduce the stability of attention.
Physiologically, this is explained by the fact that under the influence of a prolonged action of the same stimulus, excitation, according to the law of negative induction, causes inhibition in the same area of the cortex, which leads to a decrease in the stability of attention.
Sustainability is the duration of attracting attention to the same object or to the same task. It can be determined by peripheral and central factors. Stability, determined by peripheral factors, does not exceed 2-3 seconds, after which attention begins to fluctuate. But stability is significantly increased if a person actively interacts with an object, considers it and studies it, and not just looks at it. The stability of central attention can be a much longer interval - up to several minutes. It is clear that fluctuations in peripheral attention are not excluded, but it returns all the time to the same object. At the same time, the duration of attracting central attention, according to S.L. Rubinstein, depends on the ability to constantly reveal new content in the object. It can be said that the more interesting an object is for us, the more stable our attention will be.
Affects the stability of attention and vigorous activity with the object of attention. Action further focuses attention on the object. Thus, attention, merging with action and mutually intertwining, creates a strong connection with the object.
The opposite property of sustainability is distractibility. . The physiological explanation for distractibility is either external inhibition caused by extraneous stimuli, or prolonged action of the same stimulus.
Distractibility of attention is expressed in fluctuations in attention, which are periodic weakening of attention to a particular object or activity. Fluctuations in attention are observed even during very concentrated and hard work, which is explained by the continuous change of excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex. However, after 15-20 minutes, fluctuations in attention can lead to involuntary distraction from the object, which once again proves the need to diversify human activity in one form or another.
5. Switchability is determined by the speed of transition from one type of activity to another. At the same time, the transfer of attention from one to another is always accompanied by some nervous tension, which is realized by an effort of will. Sometimes a person who is deeply concentrated on an internal task that is especially important for him subconsciously tries to avoid these efforts and does not switch from this task to external stimuli. The important role of this characteristic can be easily demonstrated when analyzing such a well-known and widespread phenomenon as scattering, which is reduced mainly to poor switchability.
Many anecdotes are devoted to the distraction of scientists. However, their absent-mindedness is often the flip side of maximum composure and focus on the main subject of interest: they are so immersed in their thoughts that they do not switch when faced with everyday trifles and may find themselves in a ridiculous position. Here are some facts of this kind. A lot was told about the absent-mindedness of the famous composer and chemist A.P. Borodin, Once, when he had guests, tired, he began to say goodbye to them, saying that it was time for him to go home, since he had a lecture tomorrow, and went to get dressed in the hall. Or such a case. Borodin went with his wife abroad. When checking passports at the border checkpoint, the official asked the name of his wife. Borodin, due to his distraction, could not remember her name. The official looked at him suspiciously. At this time, his wife, Ekaterina Sergeevna, entered the room, and Borodin rushed to her: "Katya! For God's sake, what is your name?"
Such a story is also known. Comes N.E. Zhukovsky to his home, calls, from behind the door they ask: "Who do you want?". He answered: "Tell me, is the owner at home?" - "Not". - "And the hostess?" - "There is no hostess either. And what to convey?" - "Tell me that Zhukovsky came."
And one more fact. Once the famous mathematician Hilbert had a party. After the arrival of one of the guests, Madame Gilbert took her husband aside and told him: "David, go and change your tie." Gilbert is gone. An hour passed and he didn't show up. The alarmed mistress of the house went in search of her husband and, looking into the bedroom, found him in bed. He was fast asleep. When he woke up, he remembered that, having removed his tie, he automatically began to undress further and, putting on his pajamas, went to bed. Here we again encounter a deep interconnectedness of all the characteristics of attention.
What is the cause of the described distraction? Mainly in the fact that, having developed everyday stereotypes, scientists used every opportunity to remove control over their implementation or timely switching to another program from their consciousness and thereby free up the field of attention for solving the main scientific problem.
There are intentional (voluntary) and unintentional (involuntary) switching of attention. Deliberate switching of attention is accompanied by the participation of human volitional efforts.
Unintentional switching of attention usually proceeds easily, without much effort and volitional effort.
6. The limited volume of perceived and processed material makes it necessary to continuously break up the incoming information into parts and determine the sequence (order) of the analysis of the environment. What determines the selectivity of attention, its direction? There are two groups of factors. The first includes factors that characterize the structure of external stimuli that reach a person, i.e. the structure of the external field. These include the physical parameters of the signal, such as intensity, its frequency and other characteristics of the organization of signals in an external field. The second group includes factors that characterize the activity of the person himself, i.e. the structure of the internal field. Indeed, everyone will agree that if a signal appears in the field of perception, which is either more intense than others (for example, the sound of a gunshot or a flash of light), or more novel (for example, a tiger unexpectedly enters the room), then this stimulus will automatically attract attention.
The fact that certain physical parameters of the signal explicitly determine the direction of attention was first included in the theoretical understanding of the structure of this process. Thus, Broadbent described attention as a filter that selects information already at the inputs. In his first model of attention, selection was carried out on the basis of only physical parameters in an all-or-nothing manner. Here man was understood as a passive receiver of information. This position was based on the fact that he discovered that if a person was given information simultaneously in both ears and, according to the instructions, he had to perceive only the information coming into the left ear, then other information fed into the right ear was completely ignored by him.
Further research turned scientists' attention to the factors of central (internal) origin that affect the selectivity of attention: the correspondence of incoming information to a person's needs, his emotional state, and the relevance of this information to him. In addition, actions that are not sufficiently automated, and also not completed, require attention.
Numerous experiments have found that words that have a special meaning for a person, such as his name, the names of his relatives, etc., are more easily extracted from noise, since the central mechanisms of attention are always tuned to them. A striking example of the impact of particularly relevant information is the fact known as the "party phenomenon". Imagine that you are at a party and are absorbed in an interesting conversation. Suddenly, you hear your name spoken softly by someone in another group of guests. You quickly turn your attention to the conversation between these guests, and you can hear something interesting about yourself. But at the same time, you stop hearing what is being said in the group where you are standing, thereby you lose the thread of the conversation in which you participated before. You tuned into the second group and disconnected from the first. It was the high significance of the signal, not its intensity, the desire to know what other guests thought of you, that determined the changes in the direction of your attention.
Thus, attention performs a kind of "feeling", examination, analysis of the environment. Since it is impossible to feel the entire environment at once, a part of it stands out - the field of attention. This is the part of the environment that is being covered by attention at the moment. The analytic effect of attention can be seen as a consequence of its reinforcing influence. By intensifying the perception of a part of the field and successively transferring this intensification to other parts, a person can achieve a complete analysis of the environment.
It is important to note that various properties attention does not reach their peak at the same time. So, according to B.G. Ananiev, the optimum volume of attention refers to 33 years, the smallest volume is observed in the period from 18 to 21 years. The best selectivity of attention is also achieved by the age of 33. The maximum switching ability of attention falls on 29 years. Sustainability of attention reaches an optimum at 34 years.
Chapter 2
There are several different classifications of types of attention. According to W. James, attention can be, firstly, sensory, i.e. direct (if the object is of interest in itself), or derivative (indirect, if the object is of interest only by association), secondly, involuntary (passive, reflex, not accompanied by a sense of effort) or voluntary (active, accompanied by a sense of effort).
Classification based on arbitrariness is the most traditional. Historians of psychology find the division of attention into voluntary and involuntary already in Aristotle, and a complete and comprehensive description of these varieties was already made in the 18th century. Later, this division received a serious theoretical justification in the works of T. Ribot and N.N. Lange. The motives for involuntary attention are found in the characteristics of external objects. The sources of voluntary attention are entirely determined by subjective factors. This kind of attention is subordinated to the goals and intentions of the subject.
However, the phenomenology of attention is so extensive that the division only into voluntary and involuntary is clearly not enough. Therefore, within these types of attention, various subspecies. For example, within the framework of involuntary attention, forced, involuntary and habitual attention is distinguished. Forced attention is called attention, which is very difficult to control, it is attracted by stimuli of increased intensity (loud sounds, bright lights, pungent odors, etc.), as well as repetitive, moving, unusual stimuli. Involuntary attention is called attention to objects that are associated with the satisfaction of basic needs, such as hunger or thirst, but these objects attract attention only under certain circumstances. If you are hungry, you will involuntarily pay attention to the cafe sign, but if not, you may not notice it. Habitual attention is associated with the main areas of interest and human activity. So, during a joint walk, representatives of different professions notice different objects.
Within the framework of voluntary attention, one can single out volitional (occurs in the event of a conflict between a consciously chosen direction of activity and tendencies of involuntary attention), expectant (associated with a conscious expectation of the appearance of an object) and spontaneous (it is a transformed volitional attention and occurs when an object , caught in the field of attention due to effort, remains there due to the interest it arouses) (Dormyshev Yu.B., Romanov V.Ya., 1995).
N.F. Dobrynin (1938). He proposes to arrange everything known forms attention to the change in the activity of the subject, highlighting three sections in this continuum. On the first he places all forms of involuntary attention. The second is reserved for volitional, or actually arbitrary, attention. The third section is associated with spontaneous attention, or, as Dobrynin called it, post-voluntary attention.
involuntaryAttention
involuntary attention - involuntary, self-arising attention, caused by the action of a strong, contrasting or new, unexpected stimulus or a significant stimulus that causes an emotional response.
In the psychological literature, several synonyms are used to denote involuntary attention. In some studies it is called passive, in others emotional. Both synonyms help to reveal the features of involuntary attention. When they say about passivity, they emphasize the dependence of involuntary attention on the object that attracted it, and emphasize the lack of effort on the part of a person aimed at concentrating. When involuntary attention is called emotional, then the connection between the object of attention and emotions, interests, needs is distinguished. In this case, there are also no volitional efforts aimed at concentration: the object of attention is allocated due to its correspondence to the reasons that prompt a person to activity.
attention cognitive conscious unconscious
So, involuntary attention is the concentration of consciousness on an object due to some of its features.
It is known that any stimulus, changing the strength of its action, attracts attention.
The novelty of the stimulus also causes involuntary attention.
Objects that evoke a vivid emotional tone in the process of cognition ( saturated colors, melodic sounds, pleasant smells), cause involuntary concentration of attention. More greater value for the emergence of involuntary attention have intellectual, aesthetic and moral feelings. The subject that caused at a person's surprise, admiration, delight, for a long time attracts his attention.
Interest, as a direct interest in something happening and as a selective attitude to the world, is usually associated with feelings and is one of the the most important reasons prolonged involuntary attention to items.
ArbitraryAttention
Synonyms for arbitrary ( attention) are words active or volitional. All three terms emphasize the active position of the individual when focusing attention on the object.
Voluntary attention is a consciously regulated concentration on an object.
A person focuses not on what is interesting or pleasant for him, but on what he should do.
This kind of attention is closely related to the will. Arbitrarily concentrating on an object, a person makes an effort of will , which maintains attention throughout the entire process of activity. Voluntary attention owes its origin to labor.
Arbitrary attention occurs when a person sets himself the goal of an activity, the implementation of which requires concentration.
Arbitrary attention requires volitional effort, which is experienced as tension, the mobilization of forces to solve the problem. Willpower is necessary to focus on the object of activity, not to be distracted, not to make mistakes in actions.
So, the reason for the emergence of arbitrary attention to any object is the setting of the goal of the activity, the practical activity itself, for the implementation of which a person is responsible.
There are a number of conditions that facilitate arbitrary concentration of attention.
Focusing attention on mental activity is facilitated if practical action is included in cognition. . For example, it is easier to keep attention on the content scientific book when reading is accompanied by note-taking.
An important condition for maintaining attention is the mental state of a person. It is very difficult for a tired person to concentrate. Numerous observations and experiments show that by the end of the working day, the number of errors in the performance of work increases, and the state of fatigue is also subjectively experienced: it is difficult to concentrate.
Emotional arousal caused by reasons extraneous to the work performed (preoccupation with some other thoughts, illness, and other similar factors) significantly weakens a person’s voluntary attention.
Arbitrary attention - conscious focus on certain information, requires strong-willed efforts, tires in 20 minutes.
Developmentarbitraryattention.
The mentioned characteristics of attention (stability, concentration, etc.) are to some extent characteristic not only of humans, but also of animals. But the special property of attention - arbitrariness - is truly human. Animals have only involuntary attention.
Initially, attention in a child is realized through hereditary mechanisms. Up to 10 months, he is only capable of involuntary attention, his eyes stop at shiny, bright objects and familiar faces. Attention in a child is manifested outwardly in a temporary delay in breathing and restriction of movements, in lethargy, which serves to prepare for action. After 10 months, voluntary attention develops, which coexists with the involuntary for the rest of the life. When the mother names an object and points it out to the child with a gesture, thereby distinguishing it from the environment, the child's attention is restructured. It ceases to obey only natural orienting reactions, which are controlled either by novelty or by the strength of the stimulus, and begins to obey speech or gesture.
Observation shows that at the very beginning of the formation of any skill, big number useless movements. A child who is learning to write moves his whole arm, eyes, head, part of his body, and tongue. Training consists in strengthening only a certain part of the movements, coordinating them into groups and eliminating unnecessary movements. Arbitrary attention is directed to the inhibition of unnecessary movements.
The development of the stability of voluntary attention in children is studied by determining the maximum time that children of different ages can spend concentrating on one game. Let's get the data. So, if the maximum duration of one game for a six-month-old child is only 14 minutes, then by the age of six it increases to one and a half hours. The concentration of attention develops in the same way. If at three years of age in 10 minutes of playing a child is distracted on average 4 times, then at six years old - only once.
According to P.Ya. Galperin, involuntary attention combines with voluntary attention that it is also control over the object of perception or thinking, but in it the order of examination and the criteria for control are not yet determined arbitrarily, but by what the object "prompts" with its conspicuous features. Attention becomes arbitrary when the choice of content, the order of examination and the method of control are organized by a person, based on the objective requirements of the task. Unlike involuntary attention, voluntary attention is not biological in origin, but social. It is not a product of the maturation of the organism, but is formed in a child only when he communicates with adults. First time on social roots higher forms of attention were pointed out by L.S. Vygotsky. He found that in the early phases of development, the function of voluntary attention is divided between two people - an adult and a child. The first selects an object from the environment, pointing to it with a gesture or designating it with a word, the second responds to this signal by fixing the named object with a glance or grasping it. Pointing to an object with a gesture or word forcibly organizes the child's attention, changing its direction. In this way, given subject stands out for the child from the external field. When a child develops his own speech, he can name the object himself, thus arbitrarily distinguishing it from the rest of the environment. The function of analyzing the environment, which was previously divided between an adult and a child, becomes internal for the child (immersed) and is performed by him independently. The development of voluntary attention in children at first ensures the realization of only those goals that adults set for them, and then those that are set by the children themselves.
Voluntary attention is closely connected with speech. The development of voluntary attention in a child is manifested first in the subordination of his behavior to the verbal instructions of adults, and then in the subordination of his behavior to his own verbal instructions. Only at 2-2.5 years old does a simple verbal instruction from an adult clearly direct the child's behavior.
Post-voluntaryAttention
Post-voluntary attention - is caused through entry into the activity and the interest that arises in connection with this, as a result of long time purposefulness is maintained, tension is relieved and the person does not get tired, although post-voluntary attention can last for hours. Post-voluntary attention is the most effective and long lasting.
Pattern of circulation, fluctuations of attention - every 6-10 seconds the human brain is disconnected from receiving information for a fraction of a second, as a result, some part of the information may be lost.
Research B.M. Teplova and V.D. Nebylitsyna showed that the quality of attention depends on the properties of the human nervous system.
It was found that for people with a weak nervous system, additional stimuli interfere with concentration, and for people with a strong one, they even increase concentration. People with an inert nervous system have difficulty switching and distributing attention.
However, the lack of stimuli and information is an unfavorable factor. Studies have shown that when a person is isolated from stimuli coming from the environment and from his own body (sensory deprivation, when a person is placed in a soundproof chamber, put on lightproof glasses, placed in a warm bath to reduce skin sensitivity), then a normal physically healthy person rather quickly begins to experience difficulties in controlling his thoughts, he loses orientation in space, in the structure of his own body, he begins to hallucinate and have nightmares. When examining people after such isolation, they observed disturbances in the perception of color, shape, size, space, time, and sometimes the constancy of perception was lost.
Conclusion
Attention occupies a significant place in human cognitive activity. It gives us the opportunity to select a certain part from the field of perception for its analysis at a given moment in time and controls the flow of information directed to and from memory. The analytical function of attention is indispensable component any cognitive activity: transferring attention from one object to another, a person gets the opportunity to split up, dismember the continuous external environment. By changing the sequence of objects to which attention is directed - the trajectory of the examination of the external field, a person draws all new information from the same field, which provides one of the ways of in-depth penetration into the environment.
To ensure sustainable attention, long-term concentration and persistent overcoming of distractions, first of all, it is necessary to attend to the formation of a corresponding interest in a person, i.e. it is necessary to restructure the hierarchy of values in such a way that it includes this problem in the structure of significant goals. If this happens, then in the future attention will automatically weed out and eliminate everything that is not related to the problem automatically, and a person will not only not have to make efforts to keep attention on it, but, on the contrary, it will be more and more difficult for him not to notice everything that is connected to this end.
Bibliography
1. Granovskaya R. Elements practical psychology- St. Petersburg, 2003
2. Psychology: Textbook for economic universities. / Under the editorship of V.N. Druzhinin. - St. Petersburg.
3. Stolyarenko L.D. Fundamentals of psychology. Workshop. R. n / D., 2008.
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Among mental phenomena, attention occupies a special place: it is not an independent mental process and does not apply to personality traits. At the same time, attention is always included in practical activities and cognitive processes, through it the interests and orientation of the individual are expressed.
Attention - concentration of consciousness on a certain object, providing its selective and especially clear reflection.
To understand the physiological picture of the dynamics of attention, the phenomenon discovered by I.P. Pavlov, which was calledoptimal focus of excitation.Studying the physiological activity of the brain, A. A. Ukhtomsky created the doctrine of the dominant. The dominant, or the dominant focus of excitation, differs from the mobile optimal focus of excitationincreased stability.
In pedagogical practice, teachers and educators, knowing the patterns of occurrence of a focus of optimal excitability, can organize favorable conditions for his education. The teacher says: "Children, sit straight, put your hands on the desk, look at me." Such instructions for organizing posture are especially important in primary school where schoolchildren are still poorly able to manage their attention.
Of great importance in the emergence and organization of attention is the developmentdynamic stereotypesunder the influence of continuous operation.
Outwardly, attention is expressed in a specific posture, a special facial expression, which can be easily observed and by which one can judge how attentive a person is. The posture of attention is characterized by the inhibition of movements that are unnecessary for activity, the orientation of the sense organs and the entire body towards the object.
Accumulating experience in working with children, the teacher must learn by facial expressions and posture to determine the beginning of distraction and direct it, without expecting the student to be completely disconnected from the lesson.
Assessing the role of attention in mental activity, K.D. Ushinsky noted that“Attention is exactly the door through which everything that enters the soul of a person from the outside world passes.”
According to the activity of a person in the organization of attention, three types of attention are distinguished:involuntary, arbitrary and post-voluntary.
involuntary attention - this is the concentration of consciousness on an object due to the peculiarity of the latter as an irritant, that is, this type of attention depends on the qualities of the stimulus.
More strong irritantagainst the background of acting attracts the attention of a person. Presenting educational material, the teacher can increase, slow down the pace of speech, change intonation and thereby cause involuntary attention to an important passage of material. Monotonous, inexpressive speech is not able to attract and maintain attention from the outside. Expressive speech attracts attention with its form.
Causes spontaneous attentionthe novelty of the stimulus. FROMthis feature of attention should be considered when using visual aids in the classroom. If the teacher brings into the classroom and immediately hangs up the visual aids that he will need during the explanation, then he will divert the attention of students from the answers during the survey, from common work class, and by the time the manual is explained, they will lose their novelty and therefore the additional factor of attracting attention will disappear.
Objects that create bright colors in the process of cognitionemotional background(saturated colors, melodic sounds, pleasant smells), cause involuntary concentration of attention. Even more important for the emergence of involuntary attention are intellectual, aesthetic and moral feelings. An object that caused surprise, admiration, delight, attracts attention for a long time. Works of art affect the senses, attract involuntary attention and, together with the emerging cognitive interest, direct mental activity towards a deep awareness of phenomena.
Interest as a direct interest in something that is happening (the fate of the hero of the book, the outcome of a sports competition) and as a selective attitude to the world is usually associated with feelings and is one of the most important reasons for prolonged involuntary attention to objects. In order to maintain the interest, and through it the involuntary attention of students, it is useful, when communicating the objectives of the lesson, to emphasize what the students learn new things, and in conclusion to note what they have learned.
Methodological techniques aimed at arousing the interest of schoolchildren in this lesson and through it draw their attention to other subjects, different. So, to consolidate foreign words, games can be organized, visual aids can be used - pictures depicting objects corresponding to the vocabulary, poems or songs in a foreign language are listened to.
The general psychological principles for constructing a lesson in which involuntary attention is supported by interest are the following:pithinessmaterial set out in fascinating form, variety forms and working methods, passion the teacher himself with the material presented, liveliness and emotional richness lesson.
Arbitrary attention - this is a consciously regulated concentration on the object, directed by the requirements of activity. Voluntary attention focuses on what needs to be done. Therefore, the psychological content of voluntary attention is associated with setting the goal of activity and volitional effort.
Arbitrary concentration on an object presupposes an effort of will, which maintains attention. Willpower is experienced as tension, mobilization of forces to achieve the goal. It helps to keep attention on the object, not to be distracted, not to make mistakes in actions.
K.D.Ushinsky attached great importance to the development of voluntary attention of schoolchildren. He opposed the fact that the entire educational process in the primary grades was based only on interest and entertainment.
As studies by domestic psychologists (L.I. Bozhovich, A.N. Leontiev, etc.) show, the development of voluntary attention in the case of leadership of this process in the first years of training can occur quite intensively. Of great importance is the development of students' ability to work purposefully. Initially, adults (parents, teachers) set a goal for students and, if necessary, assist children in achieving it.
The highest level of voluntary attention is the ability of the student to be guidedself-set goals.The development of voluntary attention in children and goes in the direction from the fulfillment of goals,put by adults to the goals put by the students themselvescontrolling their implementation.
The development of voluntary attention is closely related to the development of schoolchildren's responsibility for the assimilation of knowledge. Students with a responsible attitude to learning are able to force themselves to carefully perform any task, both interesting and uninteresting. Students without a sense of responsibility carefully work only with interesting material. That is why it is very important to instill in students a sense of responsibility.
Education at school involves the formation of voluntary attention by organizing feasible educational activities in the primary grades with the setting of achievable goals for students. The experience of success strengthens the desire to focus on the next task. The younger the students in age, the more often there should be a change in activities in the lesson. The new kind activity is always a factor in attracting involuntary attention, contributing to the concentration of voluntary attention.
When organizing attention, the teacher must take into account a number of conditions that facilitate arbitrary concentration.
Focusing attention on mental activity is facilitated if cognition includespractical action.For example, it is easier to keep attention on the content of a scientific book when reading is accompanied by note taking.
Conditions that facilitate the maintenance of voluntary attention include features workplace. There should be no distracting stimuli in the room.
An important condition for maintaining attention ismental state of a person.It is very difficult for a tired person to concentrate. Emotional arousal weakens voluntary attention.
Supports voluntary attentionverbal reminder to selfabout the goals of the activity, in the performance of which it is necessary to be especially careful.
It facilitates the emergence and maintenance of voluntary attention by the habit of working with concentration in various, both favorable and unfavorable, conditions.
Teaching is work, and it is impossible to build the learning process only on involuntary attention. It is in teaching from class to class that children should develop the ability to organize their attention. Solving examples and tasks that require lengthy calculations, writing in compliance with existing spelling rules, learning new terms, poems, memorizing the words of a foreign language - all these, like many others, tasks in educational activities cannot be completed without voluntary attention. “It should,” wrote K.D. attention and exercise is active, which, although weak in the child, can and should develop and grow stronger from exercise.
AT post-voluntaryattention, the volitional tension necessary for concentration in voluntary attention decreases. Post-voluntary attention - focusing on an object because of its value to the individual.
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.
If voluntary attention has turned into post-voluntary, then no tension is felt before the onset of general fatigue.
The considered three types of attention in the practical activity of a person are closely intertwined and rely on one another. Organizing the attention of students, the teacher must consider not only how to call attention to this lesson, but also how to form the volitional qualities of the individual, which facilitate the management of attention.
According to the method of localization of the object of attention, they distinguishoutward-directed, or perceptual, and internal Attention. Outwardly directed attention is included in the perceptual activity of a person and the regulation of objective activity. An exploratory attitude to the world cannot be formed without the development of perceptual attention. Internal attention is connected with the awareness of the personality of its activity, its inner peace, with self-awareness.
External and internal attention inhibit each other: it is difficult to be simultaneously focused on external and internal phenomena. Inner attention contributes to the modeling of the future action and its consequences, is necessary condition development of consciousness and self-awareness. The ability to think and deliberately act is impossible without the development of inner attention.
Depending on the forms of educational activity organized by the teacher, one can distinguishcollective, group and individual attention.
An analysis of the activity of organizing attention in various learning conditions showed that the teacher constantly has to organize the transition from one form of manifestation of attention in the classroom to another.
collective attention - focusing all students on one subject.
As such a subject, the teacher's story and the students' answers are most often used. In fact, there is no 100% class attention for a long time, but for collective attention, the distractions of individual students are not afraid. Having a purposeful class team helps focus those who are not accustomed to the effort of organizing attention.
group attention - focusing attention in groups in a team environment.
Group attention has to be organized when conducting laboratory work, mutual verification, discussion of any facts in groups. For students and teachers, this is the most difficult form of organizing attention. Groups distract each other in work, therefore, to organize attention, it is necessary to clearly plan the implementation of tasks in stages, the transition to collective attention at individual stages.
individual attention - Focusing on your task. It occurs when independent reading, problem solving, performance control works. For the teacher, it is difficult to move from individual attention to collective attention, since not all students cope with the task at the same time, and for many, attention does not switch at the beginning of collective work.
Formation of attentionin educational activity - the leading psychological and didactic task.
N.F. Dobrynin found that the attention of schoolchildren is quite concentrated and stable when they are fully occupied with work, when this work requires the maximum from them mental and motor activity.If students consider objects, phenomena and at the same time have the opportunity to act with them, then in this case they are very attentive.Analysis, comparison items, highlighting essential features, isolating the main, basic in readablematerial, classification of objects by groups establishment of causal relationshipsbetween objects and phenomena, as well as other types of mental activity are impossible without a deep focus on the relevant objects, phenomena. Active mental activity requires attention.
Based on the generalization of the experience of teachers N.F. Dobrynin comes to the conclusion that the attention of students largely depends on accessibility educational material. Students enthusiastically work on something that may be difficult, but doable, which can show them the presence of some kind of achievement.
Attention is closely related to emotions and feelings children. Everything that causes them strong feelings, attracts their attention. So, already preschoolers can listen to interesting fairy tales, stories, watch movies for hours. Younger students listen with great attention to the entertaining story of the teacher and are not distracted for quite a long time.
Great influence on attention interests and needs students. What captivates children, as if by itself, attracts attention.
Municipal secondary (complete) educational institution
SUMMARY
"Development
sustained attention^ junior schoolchildren}
Completed by: Glebova G.A. teacher primary school highest qualification category
Introduction
The value of attention in human life
1. Main body
Attention Properties
Types of attention
The role of the teacher in developing attention in students
Increasing attention to the people around you
Relationship of attention with the general health of the student.
1.6. Dependence of attention on the properties of character and temperament
textbook.
Conclusion
Education in students of voluntary and involuntary attention
(from work experience)
Literature Applications
Conversation with students "Madame Attention"
Games and exercises for the development of attention
Parent meeting-workshop "How to help a child become
attentive"
Abstract of a lesson in mathematics on the topic: “Consolidation of knowledge and
numbering skills within 100.
We all know that attention is of great importance in life and, in particular, in the labor activity of a person. Only attention gives us the opportunity to see, hear, perceive the environment. That is why we teachers so often encourage students to be attentive, to encourage them to better focus on what we say or show, not to be distracted from work, not to be absent-minded in the lesson.
Only by teaching children to be attentive can we count on the success of our work. If the students are attentive, then the discipline in the class is excellent, and the classes are fruitful. Attentive children will do much more and better in the lesson than absent-minded ones, and both they and we will get tired of work less.
At the very first lessons with a new composition of students who entered the first grade, I am faced with the need to manage their attention. This is one of the initial difficulties that the teacher encounters. Seven year olds are very inattentive. They are easily and quickly distracted, stop listening to the instructions of the teacher, forget what they have heard, make many mistakes in their work, and are often suddenly distracted while doing it. They think about something extraneous, lose the sequence of the given work and for a long time cannot concentrate again.
We sometimes get angry, put deuces. But that doesn't make them any more careful. To control the attention of children, you need to know its nature. And then it will become clear that children must first be taught to be attentive and not demand concentration from them immediately.
We all studied psychology. And therefore, I will not talk about the nature of attention, but only remind you that attention is manifested in a person’s ability to focus on some particular object or phenomenon from the surrounding world while simultaneously distracting from everything else that we completely, or almost completely stop noticing.
But at the same time, the property of attention is that it fluctuates all the time, is very mobile. It can be compared to rays of light.
Attention can be directed to several objects at once, instantly stop at one thing, then gradually weaken or just as quickly switch to something else. This ability to move the ray of attention is a saving property of a person. If attention were inactive, people would not notice the dangers that threaten them from all sides and, perhaps, would have died out even before they became rational people.
But in the classroom, where there are no dangers, and at home lessons, where nothing threatens our lives, why such mobility of attention? She seems to be interfering. How convenient it would be to stare at the page and watch without being distracted! We are trying to do something similar and find that it is not possible. The beam of attention cannot be stopped!
But now the TV is turned on, they are talking in the kitchen, and even thunder rumbles outside the window, and a certain person sits awkwardly crouched at the table so that his leg is numb, but he does not even notice it. He delved into the book. What, his attention stopped?
No. Attention cannot stop. The ray of attention is constantly moving, always following some kind of movement. What movement is the reader following? Behind the movement of the author's thought, behind the movement of images, the movement of the fate of the characters. And the more active these movements are, the easier it is to focus attention on them, the more the book captures. Therefore, little children do not like descriptions of nature - there is less movement in them, and the attention of the children immediately dissipates: there is nothing to follow.
But the more a person develops, the higher and higher his culture, the more diverse movements he begins to notice. The more a person studies, the more his knowledge of the world, the more hidden movements he begins to discern. It becomes easy for him to follow them,
It is easy to be attentive to different aspects of life, and he sees much more than an undeveloped person.
Attention is of three types: we observe involuntary attention in children when someone unexpectedly enters the classroom, or when a window is thrown open by a strong wind.
Arbitrary attention is achieved by the desire of the person himself. For example, we sit down to check student notebooks in the evening, we are tired, and there is an interesting movie on TV. But we force ourselves to do this work, we force ourselves to be attentive.
The third type of attention is called post-voluntary. The source of this attention is the interest with which the guys watch the performance, read the book, trying to learn something new. It arises where children have to think about their work, look for ways to solve it, analyze and draw conclusions. In a word, post-voluntary attention is supported by active mental activity. If she is interesting, she keeps the attention of the children without requiring much nervous tension from them. It is this kind of attention that we encounter initially in our work with first-grade students.
As children get accustomed to learning, we introduce tasks that require volitional effort into their interesting active learning activities, that is, we work on instilling attention.
The development of sustainable attention is achieved by the entire system of education and training. The main form of education is the lesson. Preparation of the teacher for the lesson, careful consideration of the content of the lesson, selection of bright material, various teaching methods are important for the development of attention. When a teacher talks in an interesting way, it is easy to listen to him. What does interesting mean? This means that there is something new that appears to us as a movement of knowledge, an addition, a change. There is a movement of thought.
But, unfortunately, not all lessons are equally interesting. At school, you often have to repeat the same thing or listen to something that you can’t catch in any way.
Movement. So, it is necessary to train the ability to collect attention at will - to contribute to voluntary attention.
To make it easier for the children to follow the thought of the teacher, not to miss it, the children must be taught to work mentally. The first is to ask yourself questions: why is this so? If they remain unanswered, be sure to ask the teacher.
The second is to mentally draw up in your mind a plan for the teacher's story, that is, to divide the story into parts. Note to yourself: “So, this is the first ... I see. Now the second... the third...” This work of the mind is extremely helpful for attention.
In the third grade, in the lessons of natural history, when passing the topics “Human body and health protection” and “Mineral resources”, the children did this work at each lesson. And it helped them in preparing their homework.
A variety of works allows to attract the attention of the children to the material of the lesson. So, for example, we usually start a math lesson with mental counting. In the third grade in mathematics, the program is difficult. Take, for example, lessons on the topic "Multiplication and division of multi-digit numbers." The children have difficulty understanding the teacher's explanations. So I choose special exercises and tasks for oral counting, aimed at the formation of attention. Children are very fond of the competition "Who is faster?", the game "Ladder". This game can be varied. Attach the burning "Cat's House" once (who will extinguish it faster?), another time an apple tree (who will pick an apple faster?), Thumbelina in the dungeon (who will save faster?).
The same game can be used in Russian language lessons. Instead of examples, write words with a missing letter, who will insert faster desired letter.
To reinforce the topic “Multiplying and dividing by numbers ending in zeros”, I use the game “Find a Pair”. A similar game can be played in the Russian language - "find the right letter." Only on the saucer write the word with the missing letter, and on the cup - the desired letter.
Printed manuals and tables made by the teacher will help to attract the attention of students to new material. In the third grade, I use the manual "Classes and ranks", "Measures of length, mass, time." In Russian - "Declination of nouns and adjectives by cases."
When consolidating the material, you can successfully use travel games - "Journey into space", "Journey to the country of cheerful mathematicians", etc.
I played this game in 3rd grade math class. Traveling, the guys at the "Count-ka" station meet with an oral account, the "Veselaya" station - entertaining tasks, "Sports" - physical education, "Zagadkino" - mathematical riddles, "Solve-ka" - independent work.
Very often, the teacher is to blame for absent-mindedness, inattention. If he conducts lessons monotonously and boringly, gives very easy tasks, does not arouse active mental activity in students, he inevitably creates conditions for the appearance of absent-mindedness in children's attention. In the classroom, it is necessary to instill in students the confidence that the teacher will bring something new, lively, interesting, and important to the class every time.
Any lesson can be interesting and exciting. At the lessons of reading and the Russian language, I conducted lessons on a specific topic: about the forest, about autumn, about winter, etc. For example, when in Russian we went through the topic “Paired voiced and deaf consonants”. I picked up three exercises in the textbook on the corresponding topic, at the same time they were all about autumn (pp. 18-19, ex. 39,41,42).
An excursion to the autumn forest was previously organized. The guys were picking additional material, poems, riddles, proverbs. Even the physical education minute was chosen according to the topic of the lesson. Such lessons attract children with their unusualness, and the attention of the children in such lessons is also extraordinary. Students are both listeners and participants.
The properties of attention - direction, volume, distribution, concentration, intensity, stability and switchability - are associated with the structure of human activity. At the initial stage of activity, during the implementation of a general orientation, when the objects of this situation are still equivalent, the main feature of attention is the breadth, evenly distributed focus of consciousness on several objects. At this stage of activity, there is still no stability of attention.
Attention span is the number of objects that a person can be aware of at the same time with the same degree of clarity.
The volume of attention is somewhat less than the volume of awareness, because along with a distinct reflection of objects in our minds, at every moment there is an indistinct awareness of many other objects (up to several dozen).
The distribution of attention is the focus of consciousness on the performance of several simultaneous actions. The distribution of attention depends on experience, skills and abilities. A novice driver tensely regulates the movement of the car, he can hardly take his eyes off the road to look at the instruments, and is in no way inclined to carry on a conversation with an interlocutor. It is very difficult for a novice cyclist to pedal, maintain balance and follow the features of the road at the same time. Acquiring the appropriate stable skills during the exercise, a person begins to perform certain actions semi-automatically: they are regulated by those parts of the brain that are not in a state of optimal excitation. This makes it possible to perform several actions at the same time, while any new action requires the full concentration of consciousness.
Concentration of attention - the degree of concentration of consciousness on one object, the intensity of the focus of consciousness on this object.
Attention switchability - the speed of an arbitrary change of objects of mental processes. This quality of attention largely depends on the individual characteristics of the higher nervous activity of a person - the balance and mobility of nervous processes. Depending on the type of higher nervous activity, the attention of some people is more mobile, while others are less mobile. This individual feature of attention should be taken into account in professional selection. Frequent shifts of attention represent a significant mental difficulty, causing overwork of the central nervous system.
Sustainability of attention - the duration of the concentration of mental processes on one object. It depends on the significance of the object, on the nature of actions with it and on the individual characteristics of the person.
Not a single mental process can proceed purposefully and productively if a person does not focus his attention on what he perceives or does. We can look at an object and not notice it or see it very poorly. Busy with his own thoughts, a person does not hear the conversations that are taking place next to him, although the sounds of voices reach his hearing aid. We may not feel pain if our attention is directed to something else. On the contrary, having deeply concentrated on any subject or activity, a person notices all the details of this subject and acts very productively. And by fixing our attention on sensations, we increase our sensitivity.
Two processes can occur in the cerebral cortex of the brain: excitation and inhibition. When a person is attentive to something, this means that a focus of excitation has arisen in his cerebral cortex. The rest of the brain at this time are in a state of inhibition. Therefore, a person who is focused on one thing may not notice anything else at that moment. The activity of the unexcited parts of the brain is associated at this time with what is usually called unconscious, automatic human activity.
The ability to be alert, sometimes reacting to a very slight change in the environment, is explained by the presence in the cerebral hemispheres of a network of nerve pathways connecting the reticular formation (a set of brain structures that regulate the level of excitability) with different parts of the cerebral cortex. Nerve impulses traveling through this network arise along with signals from the sense organs and excite the cortex, bringing it into a state of readiness to respond to expected further irritations. Thus, the reticular formation, together with the sense organs, causes the appearance of an orienting reflex, which is the primary physiological basis of attention.
There are two main types of dispersion. The first is the result of a general instability of attention. They are usually distinguished by younger children. However, it can also occur in adults as a result of weakness of the nervous system or great fatigue, lack of sleep, etc. This kind of absent-mindedness also appears in the absence of the habit of working with concentration.
The second type of absent-mindedness has a completely different character. It arises because a person is focused on one thing and therefore does not notice anything else. Such absent-mindedness is distinguished by people who are passionate about their work.
If a person gets used to doing everything attentively, then attention, becoming a permanent feature, develops into attentiveness, which, as a personality trait, is of great importance in the general psychological appearance of a person. One who possesses this quality is distinguished by observation, the ability to better perceive the environment. An attentive person reacts to events faster and often experiences them more deeply, and is distinguished by a great ability to learn. Usually outstanding scientists, writers, inventors, creative people in general are attentive. Here you can name Darwin, Pavlov, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky.
Formation of involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention
Attention, like all other mental processes, has lower and higher forms. The former are represented by involuntary attention, while the latter are arbitrary.
If the teacher's lecture is interesting in content, then the students, without any effort, listen to it carefully. This is a manifestation of the so-called involuntary attention. It often appears in a person not only without any volitional efforts, but also without the intention to see, hear, etc. anything. Therefore, this type of attention is also called involuntary. What causes involuntary attention? There are several reasons for this:
- 1. Relative strength of the stimulus;
- 2. The surprise of the stimulus;
- 3. Moving objects (French psychologist T. Ribot especially singled out this factor, he believed that it is thanks to the purposeful activation of movements that concentration and increased attention on the subject occur)
- 4. Novelty of the stimulus;
- 5. Contrasting objects or phenomena;
- 6. The internal state of a person.
The so-called voluntary attention has a different character. It arises because a person has a goal, an intention to perceive or do something. This kind of attention is also called intentional. Arbitrary attention has a volitional character.
Psychologists still have a third type of attention that occurs after certain volitional efforts, but when a person, as it were, "enters" the work, he begins to easily focus on it. Such attention to the Soviet psychologist N.F. Dobrynin called post-voluntary (or secondary), since it replaces the usual voluntary attention.
If the condition for the appearance of involuntary attention is, as was said, the qualities of external stimuli and the characteristics of the internal state of a person (his needs, interests), then a conscious attitude to activity is necessary for the appearance and maintenance of voluntary attention. However, it often happens that this conscious attitude is present, the goal is clear and the achievement of it is recognized as absolutely necessary, nevertheless, a person cannot work with concentration. This happens in people with a weakly developed will, who are not used to making a certain effort to be attentive. The frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex are associated with all voluntary conscious activity, with the functioning of speech. This indicates the essence of attention as a way of functioning of the entire consciousness.
The ability to arbitrarily direct mental activity is one of the main features of human consciousness. In the process of activity, voluntary attention can turn into post-voluntary attention, which does not require constant volitional efforts. A person's attention is formed from birth, and in the process of its formation, an interconnected development of memory, speech, etc. takes place. Stages of development of attention:
- 1. The first two weeks of life - the manifestation of the orienting reflex as an objective, innate sign of the child's involuntary attention.
- 2. The end of the first year of life - the emergence of tentative research activity as a means of the future development of voluntary attention.
- 3. The beginning of the second year of life - the beginnings of voluntary attention under the influence of adult speech instructions.
- 4. The second - third year of life - the development of voluntary attention.
- 5. Four and a half - five years - directing attention to the complex instructions of an adult.
- 6. Five - six years - the emergence of an elementary form of voluntary attention under the influence of self-instructions.
- 7. School age - development and improvement of voluntary attention
