Every second A person gets a lot of information about the world around him using his senses - sounds, visual perception, tactile sensations, taste, smell.
And if all this is in full reached consciousness, the memory would be overloaded in the shortest possible time.
However, this process of perception is not chaotic - of everything that we feel, only the most important is selected, the rest passes by our consciousness, does not distract us. And this is due to our attention, which serves as a sorter. What is the attention in psychology?
What is it in psychology: the definition of
Attention in psychology - this is an electoral process that allows weeding out and controlling the information that is relevant at a given moment in time about certain manifestations or objects of the internal and external environment.
In other words, attention allows ignoring non-valuable information, preventing it from entering consciousness, while at the same time preserving ability to concentrate on significant events for a person and sensations.
Essence of attention
In any human activity, mental or physical, attention is ahead of actions and also organizes cognitive processes, because mental work relating to a particular object will not be possible if a person will focus on the other.
Attention is the door that opens access to human consciousness for some objects and slammed in front of others.
Structure
Attention has a complex structureformed from its qualitative characteristics and properties. All of them are interrelated.
The structural components themselves, in turn, are characterized by time, intensity, volume, selectivity and directivity.
Types and types: classification in the table
Attention: what happens?
Types of attention | Conditions contributing to the occurrence | Inherent characteristics | Examples |
Involuntary | The appearance of a strong stimulus that causes a contrast in perception or an emotional reaction in a person | Easy, involuntary stimulus switching | Thunder and flash of lightning, any harsh sounds |
Arbitrary | Conscious statement of any task | Directivity in accordance with the task, fatigue, the need for volitional effort | Tracking the movement of trains at the dispatcher console, solving math problems |
Postvoluntary | Interest arising during the occupation of the activities of any kind | Relieving stress while maintaining focus | Reading a book that eventually causes involvement in the events described |
Involuntary attention, in turn, is divided into the following types:
- Forced. Characterized by the fact that they are very difficult to manage, it is caused by intense stimuli. For example, a bright flash of light.
- Involuntary. This attention, which is directed to objects related to the satisfaction of any needs. For example, involuntary attention to the grocery store in the event that a person is hungry.
- Habitual. It concerns interests and human activities. For example, when walking through an unfamiliar city, the builder will pay attention to the architecture, and the gardener will pay attention to the greening of the streets.
Arbitrary attention is divided due to its features on the following:
- Strong-willed. It occurs when concentration on a directed activity is interrupted by any irritants. For example, a person concentrates on reading a book in a noisy room.
- Expectant. Waiting for the appearance of any object - for example, a phone call or message when you correspond.
- Spontaneous. Hold attention over the object that caused involuntary interest. For example, the driver pays attention to the sound of the engine, which is not typical for normal operation, when driving a car.
Properties
Properties of attention in psychology:
- Resilience. The ability to concentrate on an object for some time. This property depends on the personal qualities of the person, his volitional capabilities, as well as motivation. The stability of attention is maintained under the condition that any new properties are discovered in the observed object.
- Concentration. Focusing on the object while ignoring other stimuli.
- Volume. It represents the number of objects that are in the focus of consciousness. The average amount of attention in humans is 5 ± 2 objects.
- Switching. The transition from focusing on one object to another. For example, the transition from homework in physics to biology.
Switching attention is a volitional process, it should not be confused with involuntary distraction - for example, to any loud sound.
- Selectivity of attention. The property of being able to select important stimuli and ignore minor ones. Selective attention, for example, can be illustrated by a conversation with one person in a large company, when only the interlocutor’s speech is perceived, but the content of other people’s conversations is completely ignored.
- Distribution. The distribution and direction of attention simultaneously on several objects. An example of the focus of attention is driving a car, when the driver focuses on the visual control of the situation on the road and driving the vehicle.
Functions
Attention functions:
- activation of the currently required and ignoring minor mental and physiological processes;
- selection of information determined by the immediate needs of the body;
- concentration on the necessary facility or any activity;
- determination of the direction of perception;
- definition and focus of the thinking process.
Volume
The amount of attention characterizes the number of objects on which attention is concentrated.
Attention span an adult a person is 3-7 objects, baby it is slightly lower - 2-5 objects.
A person who has a large amount of attention will notice more phenomena and any factors, therefore, he will better appreciate this or that situation. This characteristic is also highly dependent on awareness of the relationship of the observed objects among themselves and knowledge of them.
An example is the diagnosis of a disease by a doctor, when suspicion of a particular disease occurs during an external examination, while a person without medical education may not notice these symptoms.
The amount of attention taken into account in many areas of human activity.
For example, ideally, an advertising sign should not contain more than 5 words, since the average person cannot at a glance assess all the advantages of a product with a larger number of information objects on it.
Features: briefly
What are the features of attention as a mental and cognitive process and a phenomenon as a higher mental function?
All mental processes divided into 3 classes: properties, states and processes.
Attention refers to such mental phenomena as cognitive processes. Its most important feature is focus and selectivity.
The difference of attention from other processes of cognition (memory, perception, thinking) is that it does not have its own content. It manifests itself in the framework of these processes, characterizes their dynamics, regulating and controlling human activity.
Patterns
Attention is subject to the following laws:
- Law of apperception. According to this law, attention is not a constant value - it changes with time, its level of concentration is unstable.
It depends on the physical well-being and psychological state of a person, on the emotional background, on the knowledge of the object and its relationship with the environment.
When a person feels bad - for example, he feels a headache, he will be much less attentive to the external situation, concentrating more on internal sensations than on feeling well.
- Installation law. It characterizes the person's adaptability to the best response or perception of any situation. Installation is a readiness for some action. For example, a person crossing a busy stretch of a highway with a lot of moving cars tends to control the situation as much as possible, his eyesight and hearing are tense, and he himself is ready for a sudden reaction to an unusual situation. However, this law stipulates not only sudden reactions - it can also be a volitional concentration of attention in the exercise of any professional activity. For example, a mathematician with work experience can maintain a much longer concentration of attention when solving a complex task than, for example, a schoolchild.
- Law of Attention Properties. It is determined by the basic properties of attention listed above — distribution, selectivity, volume, and stability. An example would be a change of activity - a person needs to wait some time to achieve a certain concentration of attention during the transition from physical to mental activity.
Attention management
Attention management - it is control over distractions that prevent focus on core activities.
It requires recognition of the moments of the appearance of such stimuli, as well as the ability to purposefully focus as much as possible when performing certain tasks.
The ability to manage your attention well allows a person to repeatedly increase the productivity of his work. The development of this ability leads to a qualitative change in the results of all its activities.
Distribution
Distribution of attention - It is the ability of a person to concentrate on several objects at the same time.
In other words, it is the ability to simultaneously perform several different tasks.
A prime example of a person with outstanding ability to distribute attention is Julius Caesar. It is argued that he could simultaneously dictate the content of the letter to several scribes, while he read a completely different text.
The possibility of distribution of attention You can increase it a little by using the following methods:
- In carrying out work that requires increased attention, it is desirable to be distracted every 15-20 minutes and deliberately reduce the level of its concentration, give yourself a short rest.
- At different times of day a person has a different ability to concentrate.
It is usually higher in the hours after awakening, but also depends on the individual characteristics of the person.
- The combination of similar in meaning actions leads to an increase in concentration. For example, a child who is learning a verse and accordingly gesticulating, will memorize it more quickly, since both physical and mental activity will be involved in the attention monitoring process.
- Automatism of action. An experienced driver does not think about the process of changing gears while driving, which helps him concentrate more on the situation on the road, while a beginner will be more distracting with this action.
What is attentiveness?
Mindfulness is a property of the personality to concentrate its attention on its inner world and external factors.
This ability is especially developed in great scientists, writers, artists, inventors.
Still C. Darwin wrote about his superior ability to notice things that elude the gaze of other people.
In many ways, attentiveness determines the quality of human life. Famous psychiatrist M. Erickson He said that a person can be extremely inattentive - for example, when crossing a road, not to notice such a large object as a car.
Therefore, possession of one's ability to concentrate can be decisive for human life in a variety of situations.
Types and properties of attention:
