Coursework attention and its role in human activity. Attention as a cognitive psychological process
* This work is not a scientific work, is not a final qualifying work and is the result of processing, structuring and formatting the collected information, intended to be used as a source of material for self-preparation of educational work.
Introduction
In the process of cognition and activity, a person receives a lot of impressions, and many stimuli act on the brain simultaneously. Consciousness cannot reflect all perceived and conceivable objects with equal clarity. It is biologically and socially important for a person to clearly reflect one or two of the most significant stimuli currently acting on the senses. In interaction with the environment, a selective reflection of objects has developed, provided by attention.
Among mental phenomena, attention occupies a special place; it is not an independent mental process and does not belong to the properties of the individual. At the same time, attention is always included in the cognitive processes or practical activities of a person and expresses the interests, orientation of the individual. Attention appears in life as a side of mental activity; it is a necessary prerequisite for the successful acquisition of knowledge—the quality and productivity of a person's labor activity.
1. Attention as a manifestation of personality activity
Attention is the concentration of consciousness on a certain object, providing its especially clear reflection.
For the emergence of attention, it is necessary to single out an object, focus on it and be distracted from other stimuli. The object of attention can be an object of the external world, to which an act of cognition is directed, mental activity, when a person is immersed in his thoughts, experiences or analyzes actions and deeds - both his own and and surrounding
The ability to arbitrarily direct and focus attention expresses a person's activity. Attention, as a feature of a person's mental life, has developed in the process of work. This was noted by Marx “during the entire time of labor, an expedient will is necessary, expressed in attention, and, moreover, it is necessary all the more, the less labor captivates the worker with its content and method of execution.”
The phenomenon of the optimal focus of excitation, discovered by Pavlov, helps to understand the physiological basis of attention. A number of stimuli act on the brain at every moment (auditory, visual, skin, etc.) Under the influence of these stimuli, many foci of excitation of various strengths arise in the cerebral cortex. given living conditions of the organism. According to the law of negative mutual induction, the optimal focus of excitation inhibits other parts of the cortex. The focus of optimal excitability is dynamic. A change in the nature of the stimulus leads to the movement of the focus of excitation to other parts of the brain. Such a shift in the process of excitation can result from a prolonged action of the stimulus on the same areas of the cortex according to the law of successive induction.
Studying the physiological activity of the brain, A. A. Ukhtomsky created the doctrine of the dominant. The presence of a dominant focus of excitation in the cerebral cortex makes it possible to understand such a degree of a person's concentration on any object or phenomenon, when extraneous stimuli are unable to cause distraction, they go unnoticed. A strong concentration of attention in a person is associated with a passionate love for the cause, with a deep interest in the subject.
Neither the optimal focus of excitation, nor the dominant reveals to the end the mechanisms of human attention, especially its arbitrary nature. Unlike animals, humans control their attention. Therefore, in educating a person's attention, the ability to identify and set a goal that can be formulated by him or be proposed by someone is of exceptional importance. Setting and constantly clarifying the goals of activity cause, support and switch attention. The mechanism for the emergence of an optimal, or dominant, focus of excitation in these cases will be the interaction of the first and second signal systems, carried out by elective (selective) irradiation of excitation from the speech (second) signal system to the first. In turn, the primary signal stimuli, reflected in speech, contribute to clarifying the goal and strengthening the focus of optimal excitability,
Equally important in the emergence and organization of attention is the strengthening of dynamic stereotypes. A person who is accustomed to work carefully gradually develops a dynamic stereotype, which greatly facilitates the emergence of a focus of optimal excitability in a familiar working environment. It should be emphasized that inattentive performance of work should not be allowed, since. changing the existing dynamic stereotype is always more difficult than developing a new one.
The state of nervous activity associated with attention is expressed externally: in a specific posture, a special facial expression, which can be easily observed and which can be used to judge how attentive a person is. The posture of attention is characterized by the inhibition of movements, the orientation of the sense organs to the object, if it is given in perception. The facial expressions of immersion in the world of one's thoughts are characterized by the dilution of the axes of the eyes (they say: a person has an absent gaze).
Accumulating experience in working with people, the leader, the teacher must learn by facial expressions and posture to determine the beginning of distraction and direct it, not expecting a complete disconnection from the activity.
2. The value of attention in human life and activity
Noting the role of attention in mental activity, let us recall the words of the great Russian teacher K. D. Ushinsky: “... attention is exactly the door through which everything that enters the soul of a person from the outside world passes.”
Attention is characterized by the following properties: volume, distribution, concentration, stability and switchability.
In the properties of attention, personality traits are expressed. Depending on the whole warehouse of mental life, the mindfulness of the individual is formed. By the nature of attention, people are divided into attentive, inattentive, scattered.
Mindfulness as a personality trait should be distinguished from mental states Mindfulness and absent-mindedness as temporary mental states are observed in every person, regardless of whether he has developed the corresponding character traits or not
A state of heightened attentiveness occurs in a person who finds himself in a new, unusual environment for him; it is caused by a tense expectation of significant events in life, the fulfillment of responsible assignments
The state of mindfulness is characterized by an exacerbation of sensitivity, clarity of thought, emotional beating, an increase in the speed of mental reactions caused by volitional mobilization of forces, composure and readiness for action.
The state of mindfulness may occur with increased interest in the subject at the moment. In this case, mindfulness is based on involuntary attention.
The state of mindfulness, like all mental states, is a transient phenomenon. The situation changes, and the person returns to his usual style of attention. That is why there are bitter disappointments in people when, having taken the state of mindfulness as a personality trait, later you begin to understand the true style of attention of this person.
Absent-mindedness as a state of attention is also experienced by every person. Fatigue after a hard day at work, preoccupation with one’s thoughts when doing an uninteresting task, joyful, high spirits in the absence of a responsible task, satiety with conversations - all these, as well as some others, can cause a state of absent-mindedness. state, a person may show inattention that is not characteristic of him as a person
Attention as a personality trait, that is, mindfulness, is determined primarily by the correlation in the activities of the types of attention. The predominance of voluntary and post-voluntary attention is characteristic of a strong-willed, purposeful person who is clearly aware of what and why he needs. In this case, the shortcomings in the individual qualities of attention (slow switchability, poor distribution) are compensated. The predominance of involuntary attention testifies to the inner emptiness of a person: his attention is at the mercy of external circumstances, volitional regulation of attention is minimal. Such attention can be characterized as absent-mindedness, the hallmark of which is "uncommon lightness in thoughts", fluttering from object to object.
The cause of absent-mindedness can also be a deep concentration of attention on one subject. In this case, a person, insufficiently distributing attention, ceases to notice what is happening around. According to the external picture of behavior, it seems that this person is generally absent-minded. A strong degree of concentration of attention on one subject is characteristic of thinkers. This distraction of attention is a consequence of focusing attention on one object.
Both attentiveness and absent-mindedness, associated with the inability to arbitrarily regulate one's attention, are expressed in mental activity, the first - in conclusiveness, consistency, consistency of reasoning; the second - in the emotional distractibility of thought, in the inability to consistently and to the end to bring the reasoning. It is clear that attention is not the cause, but one of the conditions that determine the logical course of thought and its results.
The predominance of voluntary attention in a person suggests that attentiveness is inherent in him as a personality trait. For a deeper understanding of mindfulness, it is necessary to analyze, firstly, its connection with the activity and orientation of the personality, which determine the content-motivational side of attention, and, secondly, the correlation in the structure of mindfulness of the properties of attention.
In labor and educational activities, a stable circle of objects is distinguished, to which the voluntary attention of a person is more often directed. These objects, distinguished by the content of activity, as well as goals expressed in speech form, gradually begin to occupy more and more space in the mind. There is a habit to pay attention to this circle of objects and to a certain activity.
Knowledge allows you to notice such details in objects or thoughts that a non-specialist passes by. Thus, the professionalization of the teacher's attention is reflected in the fact that he begins to notice the shortcomings in the behavior of others not only at school, but also outside it, he cannot calmly pass by violations of the norms of behavior. Engaging in technical design makes the worker, the engineer, look closely at any new machine. The scientist's thought becomes the subject of his relentless thinking and, consequently, his attention.
The worldview, conviction, ideals of a person have a significant influence on what objects cause the concentration of her consciousness. The ability to put the main, growing, new in life in the center of attention is connected with the orientation of the personality.
Mindfulness as a personality trait is manifested in a kind of synthesis of the properties of attention. Forms certain properties of attention active human activity. For example, pedagogical activity develops a stable, well-distributed and quickly switched attention. The work of a scientist requires concentrated and sustained, but less flexible attention. Therefore, the properties of attention associated with the typological features of the nervous system are formed as a result of activity.
Included in the cognitive activity of a person, attention is combined in character traits with the individual characteristics of mental activity. In such character traits as observation and curiosity, the emotional attitude of a person and the peculiarities of his attention are synthesized on the basis of the originality of mental activity. In passion as an emotional personality trait, the synthesis of attention with cognitive activity occurs on the basis of feelings.
Mindfulness as a character trait expressing attitude towards people acquires great value in society. Attention to the needs and interests, experiences and health of team members should be a mandatory feature of every leader. This requirement fully applies to the teacher, for whom the life of students and their development is a constant object of attention. Mindfulness is the basis of sensitivity and tact in the approach to both children and adults.
Summing up the analysis of mindfulness as a personality trait, it should be emphasized that it reflects:
2) typical features of the human eyelid. Mindfulness is formed in activity and is synthesized with certain features of mental activity and emotional characteristics of a person.
3. Formation of involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention in the learning process
There are three types of attention: involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary.
Involuntary Attention: Several synonyms are used in the psychological literature to refer to involuntary attention. In some studies it is called passive, in others emotional. Both synonyms help to reveal the features of involuntary attention. When they talk 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 to focus. When involuntary attention is called emotional, they highlight the connection between the object of attention and emotions, interests, needs. In this case, there are also no volitional efforts aimed at focusing, the object of attention is allocated due to its correspondence to the reasons that prompt a person to activity.
Involuntary attention is the concentration of consciousness on an object due to some of its features.
Presenting the educational material, the teacher can cause involuntary attention in students by changing the strength, timbre of the voice and the pace of speech. Monotonous, inexpressive speech is not able to attract and maintain attention from the outside Expressive speech attracts attention already from the outside
Any stimulus, changing the strength of its action, attracts attention.
The novelty of the stimulus also causes involuntary attention A car of a new brand that has appeared on the street, a fresh issue of a fresh newspaper will always be noticed. This feature of attention should be considered when using visual aids in the classroom. explanation, then it will divert the attention of students from the answers of other students, from the general work of the group, and by the time the explanation is given, the manuals will lose their novelty, and therefore the additional fact of attracting attention will disappear.
Causes attention, the beginning and termination of the stimulus. Keeping this in mind, it is sometimes more beneficial to pause the story, make a long pause to attract the attention of distracted students than to make a remark to them. The remark always switches the attention of several students (to the student who violated discipline) and distracts them from their educational work start the lesson without waiting for absolute silence. The started story will attract the attention of those students who have not yet had time to focus on the lesson.
The listed features of the stimulus briefly turn it into an object of attention. A longer concentration of involuntary attention on an object is associated with the needs for objects, with their emotional significance and interest for a person. An object that satisfies a need ceases to attract the involuntary attention of a person.
Objects that cause a bright emotional tone in the process of cognition (saturated colors, melodic sounds, pleasant smells) cause involuntary concentration of attention. Intellectual, aesthetic and moral feelings are even more important for the emergence of involuntary attention. An object that has caused a person's surprise, admiration, delight, attracts his attention for a long time.
Interest, as a direct interest in something 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 the process of cognition, what is interesting for a person is not something that is not known at all, and not something about which everything is already known. What is new in the known causes cognitive interest. they will learn new things, and in conclusion, note what they have learned
The general psychological principles for constructing a lesson, in which involuntary attention is supported by interest, are the following: the content of the material presented in a fascinating form, the variety of forms and methods of work, the teacher's enthusiasm for the material presented, the liveliness and emotional richness of the lesson.
Needs, feelings and interests, unlike other previously considered causes that cause involuntary attention, are associated not only with the characteristics of the object itself, but also with the person's attitude towards it.
Human relations to objects and phenomena appear in other types of attention: voluntary and post-voluntary.
Synonyms for the word arbitrary (attention) are the 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. Arbitrary attention owes its origin to labor. In a child, voluntary attention is manifested in the game and in the performance of individual labor assignments that adults give him. Learning presupposes the presence of, and forms voluntary attention.
Arbitrary attention occurs when a person sets himself the goal of an activity, the implementation of which requires concentration. While the driver is driving, the accountant is counting the columns of numbers, the scientist is considering the results of the experiment, each of them must be attentive.
Arbitrary attention requires volitional effort, which is experienced as tension, 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 a goal, the activity itself is practical activity, for the implementation of which a person is responsible.
Arbitrary attention arose as a result of those physical and mental efforts that the human ancestor had to show in labor activity. In ontogenesis, one can see the appearance of the beginnings of voluntary attention in the games of young children, in the fulfillment of adult tasks, and in educational activities.
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 of a scientific book when reading is accompanied by note taking. For the same purpose, it is useful for students to take notes during lectures. Even such relatively simple actions as tracing boundaries on a map with a pointer or underlining certain positions while reading a book contribute to a more stable selection of the object of attention.
Difficulties in voluntary attention are clearly visible, for example, in the process of prolonged passive listening. Arbitrary attention is supported by a verbal reminder to oneself of the goals of the activity, of those moments in which it is necessary to be especially attentive.
The conditions that facilitate the maintenance of voluntary attention include the features of the workplace environment. There should be no extraneous irritants in the room that distract from the case. For example, conversations between some students make it difficult for those students who are actively working to focus.
An important condition for maintaining attention is the mental state of a person. It is very difficult for a tired person to concentrate.
Emotional arousal caused by reasons extraneous to the work performed significantly weakens a person's voluntary attention.
It facilitates the emergence and maintenance of voluntary attention by the habit of working attentively in various favorable and unfavorable conditions.
Teaching is work, and it is impossible to build the learning process only on involuntary attention. It is in learning that the ability to organize one's attention should be developed. “It must,” wrote K.D. which ... can and should be developed and strengthened by exercise "
The third type of attention is post-voluntary. In post-voluntary attention, the volitional effort necessary for concentrating in voluntary attention decreases.
According to the psychological characteristics, post-voluntary attention is close to involuntary: it also arises on the basis of interest in the object, but the nature of interest as a definite relationship to the object is different in this case. In involuntary attention, interest is immediate. In post-voluntary attention, interest is mainly manifested in the result of the activity.
Thus, a student may begin to do a task without any interest, forcing himself to focus on his solution. During work, for one reason or another (“the decision does not come out, but I will do it all the same, I will prove that I can”, etc.), he develops such an attitude when the need for volitional maintenance of attention disappears, it remains riveted to the subject - He was carried away by the process of solving the task.
The inclusion of post-voluntary attention in the activity is largely determined by the characteristics of the individual, the habit of working. When for a person “work without extra bills, work until a hot sweat, hours of hard work” becomes the happiness of life, there is an easy transition of voluntary attention to post-voluntary, in which, before the onset of general fatigue, attention is not felt.
The considered three types of attention in the practical activity of a person are closely intertwined with mutual transitions and support each other. Organizing the attention of students, the teacher must think over not only how to arouse attention, but also how to form the volitional qualities of the individual, which facilitate the management of attention.
Conclusion
Attention is a reflection of the analytic-synthetic processes of the integrative activity of the human brain.
With damage to the frontal lobes of the brain, there is a violation of complex forms of activation caused by speech, which form the psychophysiological basis of voluntary attention. This section of the brain, and especially its medial-basal sections, are the cortical apparatus that regulates the state of activity. They play a decisive role in ensuring one of the most important conditions for conscious human activity - the creation of the necessary tone of the cortex. modify the state of wakefulness in accordance with the tasks that are set for the individual. Attention is an indicator of the level of wakefulness
Education of attention as an arbitrary mental activity, which is controlled by the person himself, involves independent work on oneself and the availability of psychological knowledge that guides the work of self-education. For the development of voluntary attention, it is important to develop an attitude in yourself - never work inattentively. It is useful to learn to concentrate and not be distracted when there are interferences in the work. In general, the higher the level of awareness of the activity that a person performs, the easier it is to focus on it.
The focus is on the following areas:
one). all kinds of attention are improved,
2) voluntary and post-voluntary attention develops especially intensively, which begins to occupy a leading place in the regulation of activity,
3) a habit is formed to work carefully, without being distracted by external and internal factors that act as obstacles to focusing attention,
4) properties of attention develop.
The synthesis of the entire development of attention is the formation of mindfulness as a personality trait.
Bibliographic list
8. Dobrynin N. F. Attention and its upbringing, M, Pravda, 1989.
9. Gonobolin F.N. Attention and its education. M., 1990.
11. Nemov R.S. Psychology. M., S.125 132..
12. Psychology Textbook / ed. A.A. Krylova, M., Prospect 2000 p. 5355
13. Psychology Textbook for ped. Institutes / ed.
14. A.G. Kovaleva et al. 1986 p. 158173.
15. Ushinsky K.D. SS t 6.10.
16. Reader on attention. M., 1976.
17. Shardakov. M N, Essays on the psychology of teaching, M., Delo, 1997.
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 clear 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.
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 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.
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 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 carefully, 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.
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 - the 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 itself within the framework of psychological concepts with such difficulty as 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, which allows him not to be a toy of external influences when interacting with the outside world.
Attention can be defined as a psychophysiological process, a state that characterizes the dynamic features of cognitive activity. They are expressed in its concentration on a relatively narrow section of external or internal reality, which at a given moment in 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 (braking, 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 that are united in meaning are perceived in greater numbers than those that are not united. 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, the smaller the area of the perceived form, the more concentrated the 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 the 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 the various properties of attention do 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 are distinguished. 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 the conscious expectation of the appearance of an object) and spontaneous (it is a transformed volitional attention and occurs when the 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 order all known forms of attention according 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. Even more important for the emergence of involuntary attention are 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 most important reasons for 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 of a 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, a painful condition, and other factors of this kind) 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, a large number of useless movements are made. 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. For the first time, 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. Thus, this object 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 - caused through entry into the activity and the interest arising in connection with this, as a result, purposefulness is maintained for a long time, 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 an indispensable component of 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 of 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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All conscious life human attention is located somewhere (directed to something). Now it watches the mental reasoning, then it will taste the food consumed and again plunge into reflection. Wherever our attention is directed, we ourselves are. Therefore, in a sense, we and our attention are one.
Psychologists identify a number of properties that distinguish human attention:
1. Concentration- to keep attention on a separate object, for example, on the smell of fragrant flowers. The intensity of concentration determines how quickly we can evade the object of concentration.
2. Volume- the number of all currently considered objects
3. Sustainability- a measure of the intensity of concentration
4. switchability- a property that also affects the strength of concentration in a certain way and can interfere in many life situations (for example, at an exam or a work conference)
5. Distribution- holding in the mind of several objects with regular switching from one to another.
The classification and identification of the properties of attention is somehow somewhat arbitrary, because it is impossible to speak so clearly and separate the mental processes that take place in us. Only the physical world is subject to any precise definitions, classifications and studies.
A few words about concentration.
Concentration of attention affects its properties such as concentration and stability. The skill of concentration is necessary for us in everyday life, like air. When we need to answer a given question, play a musical instrument, act out a play, any distraction from the object can doom these actions to failure. However, people often ignore the significance of this phenomenon. There are many exercises to develop concentration. If you want to be successful in all areas of life, I strongly recommend that you read them.
Here's one, the simplest: take a book or newspaper and count the number of letters "a" in the first paragraph. Check yourself. Count all the vowels, check if you completed the task correctly. Do these every day.
In conclusion, I note that attention is an integral part of the human psyche. It has a number of properties, each of which can be used for practical purposes.
Sustained concentration is an absolutely necessary skill to practice, allowing you and me to reveal our limitless potential.
Municipal secondary (complete) educational institution
SUMMARY
"Development
sustained attention of younger students)
Completed by: Glebova G.A. primary school teacher of the 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 are saying or showing, 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 is sitting awkwardly crouched at the table so that his leg is numb, but he does not notice this either. 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 studying the topics “Human Body and Health Protection” and “Mineral Resources”, the children did such 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. Therefore, I select special exercises and tasks for mental 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 quickly insert the 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 children selected 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.