14. Mental processes Attention

Summary

The concept of attention. Attention as a mental phenomenon. The main characteristics of attention. Attention and consciousness. Physiological mechanisms of attention and an indicative reflex. Classification of theories of attention by N. N. Lange. Theory of attention T. Ribot. The concept of attention P. Ya. Halperin. The concept of installation D. N. Uznadze and attention.

The main types of attention. Involuntary attention and its impelling factors. Features of voluntary attention. Social factors of voluntary attention. Postponeal attention

Characteristic properties of attention. The basic properties of attention. Psychophysical characteristics of the stability of attention and its basic conditions. Methods for studying sustainability of attention. Concentration and distribution of attention. Methods for studying the distribution of attention. Switching and volume of attention. Methods of research volume attention. Distractibility and its physiological basis. Imaginary and genuine absent-mindedness.

The development of attention. The main stages of the development of the child's attention. Defining the development of attention 4'actors for L. S. Vygotsky.

Attention Disorders

14.1. Concept of attention

Attention is a psychological phenomenon in relation to which so far there is no consensus among psychologists. On the one hand, in the psychological literature the question of the existence of attention as an independent mental phenomenon is considered. Thus, some authors argue that attention cannot be considered as an independent phenomenon, since it is to some extent present in any other mental process. Others, on the contrary, defend the independence of attention as a mental process.

On the other hand, there are disagreements over which class of mental phenomena should be considered. Some believe that attention is a cognitive mental process. Others associate attention with the will and human activity, based on the fact that any activity, including cognitive, is impossible without attention, and attention itself requires the manifestation of certain volitional efforts.

What is the attention? To answer this question, imagine a schoolboy doing homework in math. He is fully absorbed in solving the problem, concentrates on it, ponders its conditions, moves from one calculation to another. Describing each of these episodes, we can say that he is attentive to what he does, that he draws attention to those subjects that he distinguishes from others. In all these cases, it can be said that his mental activity is focused on something or focused on something. This focus and concentration of mental activity on something definite is called attention.

Attention is a through mental process consisting in the selective orientation of mental activity on an object.

Attention is the focus and concentration of mental activity on a particular object while disconnecting from others. Orientation is associated with the transition from one occupation to another, and concentration - with the depth of the lesson.

Attention takes part in the organization of all cognitive processes (sensations, perceptions, thinking), being a through mental process, and performs the following functions :

1) the selection of significant stimuli and ignoring non-essential, side;

2) retention, preservation of the desired activity (or image) until the goal is achieved;

3) regulation and control of the course of activity.

Thus, attention can be considered:

 as a process (sensory, perceptual);

 as a state (concentration);

 as a property of the person (observation).

In turn, under the direction of mental activity should be meant its selective nature, i.e. the selection from the environment of specific subjects significant for the subject, phenomena or the choice of a certain kind of mental activity. The concept of focus also includes the preservation of activity for a certain period of time. It is not enough just to choose this or that activity, in order to be attentive, it is necessary to keep this choice, to keep it. For example, you can easily direct your attention to the solution of a specific task, but if you cannot keep the object of the relevant activity in your focus, then you are unlikely to be able to solve this problem.

As follows from our definition, another characteristic of attention is concentration. By focusing primarily means a greater or lesser depth in activity. Obviously, the more complex the task, the greater should be the intensity and intensity of attention, i.e. greater depth is required. On the other hand, concentration is associated with distraction from all outsiders. Otherwise, when you do not manage to distract from the stranger, the solution of the problem is complicated.

Orientation and concentration are closely linked. One cannot exist without the other. When you send your attention to something, at the same time you focus on it. And vice versa, when you focus on something, you direct your mental activity to it. However, despite the close connection between them, these concepts are not identical. Orientation is associated with the transition from one occupation to another, and concentration - with the depth of the lesson.

In order to understand the role that attention plays in human mental activity, imagine that you are looking at some group of objects. Some objects that are in the center of your visual field will be perceived by you most clearly, others that are on the periphery of your visual field, less clearly. A similar analogy can be constructed in relation to our consciousness: what constitutes the meaning of our activity occupies the center of our consciousness, and what is insignificant at the moment goes to the periphery, or the “side field” of consciousness. It should be noted that this analogy is just an analogy; you can look at some object and

think about something else entirely. In this case, the “central field” of your consciousness will be occupied by what you think, not what you are looking at. If we imagine our consciousness graphically, then we should draw two circles: one in the other. A large circle will be called an area of ​​obscure consciousness, and a small circle - a zone of clear and distinct consciousness, or a zone of attention (Fig. 14.1). Thus, attention provides clarity and clarity of consciousness, an awareness of the meaning of mental activity at one time or another. But speaking of the two zones of clarity and clarity of consciousness, it should be borne in mind that in an unclear zone

Figure 14.1. Scheme of zones of consciousness

It is interesting What is the material basis of attention One of the main directions of the study of attention is to identify the mechanisms by which we direct attention to the objects of interest. Such a simple mechanism is the physical reorientation of our sensory sensors towards these objects. In the case of vision, this means translating the view so that the object of interest falls on the most sensitive part of the retina. However, as shown by studies of visual attention, built on observation of the subject's eyes, the eyes do not stand still, but scan. As with reading, this scan is not a smooth continuous movement, but consists of consecutive fixations. This is evidenced by the recording of the movement of the eyes of the subjects by a camera. It has been established that eye movements when scanning an image ensure that its various parts fall into the zone of the highest resolution, which allows us to examine the details. The points at which the gaze is fixed are not accidental. These are the most informative places of the image, the places where the most important signs are located. For example, when scanning a face in a photograph, the set of fixation points falls on the areas where the eyes, nose and mouth are located. In the auditory perception, the closest analogue of eye movements are head movements, in which the ears are oriented in relation to the sound source. In many situations, this mechanism of attention has limited application. Take, for example, a party where many people have gathered. We hear a lot of voices, and their sources are not removed enough for the reorientation of the ears to selectively track any one conversation. But you can selectively perceive the message, focusing on the first and features of his voice (height, pace and intonation). Even in the absence of any of these signs, it is possible, albeit with difficulty, to choose one of two messages for tracking, based on its meaning. Studies of the so-called “cocktail party” phenomenon show that a person remembers very little of the auditory message, if his attention was not directed to him. In the usual procedure of such a study, a person puts on headphones and puts one message in one ear and another in another ear. The subject is asked to repeat (set off) one of these messages when it sounds in the earpiece. This lasts for several minutes, after which the messages are stopped and the subject is asked about the non-shaded message. The subject can say very little about him. His remarks are limited to the physical characteristics of the sound coming through the non-shaded channel: high was the voice or low, male or female, and so on; and he can say almost nothing about the content of this message. From the fact that a person can tell so little about unshadowed auditory messages, it was first concluded that unattended incentives are completely filtered out. As a result of further research, there appeared sufficient grounds to believe that the perceptual system still leads some processing of neglected stimuli, although they rarely reach consciousness. One of the proofs of partial processing of untraceable stimuli is that a person is more likely to hear his name, even when it is pronounced in untracked conversation in a low voice. This would not be possible if the untracked message were completely lost at the lower levels.

consciousness has its own phases of vagueness and vagueness. As in sight, the closer to the center, the more clearly we are aware of certain phenomena.

Attention, like any mental process, is associated with certain physiological phenomena. In general, the physiological basis for the selection of individual stimuli and the flow of processes in a certain direction is the excitation of some nerve centers and the inhibition of others. A human stimulus causes brain activation. The activation of the brain is carried out primarily by the reticular formation. Irritation of the ascending part

It is interesting nih perceptual system. This means that lack of attention does not block the message completely, but only weakens *** them like a volume control, with which the sound is turned down. Researchers studying the physiological mechanisms of attention are trying to give an answer to the question of the manifestation of such properties of attention. It should be noted that over the past few years important advances have been made in understanding the nervous mechanisms of attention, especially in the field of visual attention. Scientists were interested in two main questions: firstly, by what structures of the brain is the psychological act of selecting the object of attention and, secondly, what is the difference in the subsequent nervous processing accompanied by attention and ignored stimuli? Conducted studies have suggested that the brain has two separate systems that produce the selection of input signals. One system is associated with the localization of the object; she is responsible for choosing one location among all others, as well as for switching from one location to another. It is commonly called the back system, because the structures of the brain that form it - part of the parietal cortex and some subcortical structures - are in the back of the brain. Another system of attention is associated with other properties of the object, for example, with its shape and color. It is called the anterior system, because the structures that form it — the anterior corbel and some subcortical structures — are in the anterior part of the brain. Consequently, the object of attention can be chosen by focusing either on its location or on some other property, and these two variants of selectivity will be realized by two completely different parts of the brain. Thus, the results of modern studies with high confidence answer the first question about the brain structures that ensure the functioning of the mechanisms for selecting information, Now consider the second question. What happens after the object of attention is selected, what changes in the course of the nervous processes are observed? Partly the answer to this question can be given by the results of an experiment in which the subject was presented with a series of colored geometric shapes and said that he, paying attention only to red shapes, indicated when a triangle would be presented to him. In this case, the front system switches the attention to color. But what else changes in the nervous processing of each stimulus? The answer is that those areas of the visual cortex that process color become more active than they would be if the subject did not direct attention to color. In general, areas of the brain that are relevant to the properties to which attention is directed enhance their activity. Evidence of such increased activity was obtained in a number of experiments. In particular, in one of the experiments, brain scans of the subjects were scanned while they observed moving objects of varying color and shape. Under some experimental conditions, the subjects were asked to detect changes in the nature of the movement of objects, and under other conditions, changes in the shape and color of objects; This means that in the first case, attention was paid to movement, and in the second, to color and form. Although, under all experimental conditions, the stimuli were physically identical, it was found that in the first case, the brain areas involved in motion processing are more active, and in the second, the brain areas involved in color or shape processing. Consequently. attention is enhanced by that which is essential, not only psychologically, but also in a biological sense.

The reticular formation causes the appearance of fast electric lines in the cerebral cortex, increases the mobility of the nervous processes, reduces the thresholds of sensitivity. In addition, the diffuse thalamic system, hypothalamic structures, etc. are involved in activating the brain.

Among the "starting" mechanisms of the reticular formation should be noted indicative reflex. It is an innate response of the body to any change in the environment in humans to animals. There was a snort in the room, and the kitten started, alert, and fixed his eyes toward the sound.

358 • Part II. Mental processes

Names

Ukhtomsky Alexey Alekseevich (1875-1942) - the famous domestic physiologist. Developing the ideas of I. M. Sechenov on the biological and systemic character of neuropsychic acts, he advanced the theory of dominant as the main principle of the nerve centers and the organization of behavior. This doctrine was contrasted with the view of the brain as a complex of reflex arcs. According to Ukhtomsky, each observed motor effect is determined by the nature of the dynamic interaction of the cortical and subcortical centers, the actual needs of the organism, and the history of the organism as a biological system. The brain should be regarded as the organ of "precautionary perception, anticipation and design of the environment." Inertness is characteristic of the dominant, that is, the tendency to be maintained and repeated when the external environment has changed and the stimuli that once caused this dominant no longer affect the central nervous system. Inertness violates the normal regulation of behavior, but it also acts as an organizing element for intellectual activity.

Traces of previous activities can coexist simultaneously in the form of many potential dominants. With a lack of consistency among themselves, they can lead to a conflict of reactions. In this case, the dominant plays the role of the organizer and amplifier of the pathological process.

Механизмом доминанты Ухтомский объяснял широкий спектр психических явлений и их характеристик, например внимание (его направленность на определенные объекты, сосредоточенность на них и избирательность) и предметный характер мышления (вычленение из множества раздражителей среды отдельных комплексов, каждый из которых воспринимается организмом как определенный реальный объект, отличный от других). Это «разделение среды на предметы» Ухтомский трактовал как процесс, состоящий из трех стадий: укрепление наличной доминанты; выделение только тех раздражителей, которые являются для организма биологически значимыми;

установление адекватной связи между доминантой (как внутренним состоянием) и комплексом внешних раздражителей.

Работы А. А. Ухтомского послужили основой создания многих современных физиологических и психофизиологических теорий.

На уроке ученики сосредоточенно пишут сочинение. Но вот дверь в классе слегка приоткрылась, и, несмотря на поглощенность работой, все школьники посмотрели на дверь.

Однако внимание не может быть объяснено лишь одним ориентировочным рефлексом. Физиологические механизмы внимания более сложны. Например, необходимы определенные механизмы, способные выделить какой-либо новый раздражитель из других постоянно действующих в данный момент. В психологической литературе обычно рассматривают две основные группы механизмов, осуществляющих фильтрацию раздражителей: периферические и центральные.

К периферическим механизмам можно отнести настройку органов чувств. Прислушиваясь к слабому звуку, человек поворачивает голову в сторону звука, и одновременно соответствующая мышца натягивает барабанную перепонку, повышая ее чувствительность. При очень сильном звуке натяжение барабанной перепонки ослабевает, что ухудшает передачу коле***ний во внутреннее ухо. Остановка или задержка дыхания в моменты наивысшего внимания также способствуют обострению слуха.

По мнению Д. Е. Бродбента, внимание — это фильтр, отбирающий информацию именно на входах, т. е. на периферии. Он установил, что если человеку пода-

вали разную информацию одновременно в оба уха, но, согласно инструкции, он должен был воспринимать ее лишь левым, то подававшаяся при этом в правое ухо информация полностью игнорировалась. В дальнейшем было установлено, что периферические механизмы отбирают информацию по физическим характеристикам. У. Нейсер назвал эти механизмы предвниманием, связывая их с относительно грубой обработкой информации (выделение фигуры из фона, слежение за внезапными изменениями во внешнем поле).

Центральные механизмы внимания связаны с возбуждением одних нервных центров и торможением других. Именно на этом уровне происходит выделение внешних воздействий, что связано с силой вызванного ими нервного возбуждения. В свою очередь, сила нервного возбуждения зависит от силы внешнего раздражения. Более сильное возбуждение подавляет возникающее одновременно с ним слабое возбуждение и определяет течение психической деятельности в соответствующем направлении. Однако возможно слияние двух или нескольких одновременно воздействующих раздражителей, усиливающих друг друга. Этот вид взаимодействия раздражителей также является одной из основ выделения внешних воздействий и течения процессов в определенном направлении.

Говоря о физиологических основах внимания, нельзя не сказать еще о двух очень важных явлениях: об иррадиации нервных процессов и доминанте. Закон индукции нервных процессов, установленный Ч. Шеррингтоном и широко использованный И. П. Павловым, в определенной степени объясняет динамику физиологических процессов, обеспечивающих внимание. Согласно этому закону, возбуждение, возникающее в одной области коры головного мозга, вызывает торможение в других ее областях (так называемая одновременная индукция) или сменяется торможением в данном участке мозга (последовательная индукция). Участок коры головного мозга, в котором возникает явление иррадиации, характеризуется оптимальными условиями для возбуждения, поэтому здесь легко вырабатываются дифференцировки, успешно образуются новые условные связи. Деятельность же других участков мозга связана в это время с тем, что обычно называется неосознанной, автоматической деятельностью человека.

Согласно принципу доминанты, выдвинутому А. А. Ухтомским, в мозге всегда имеется временно господствующий очаг возбуждения, обусловливающий работу нервных центров в данный момент и придающий тем самым поведению человека определенную направленность. Благодаря особенностям доминанты происходит суммирование и накапливание импульсов, поступающих в нервную систему, с одновременным подавлением активности других центров, за счет чего возбуждение еще больше усиливается. Благодаря этим свойствам доминанта является устойчивым очагом возбуждения, что, в свою очередь, позволяет объяснить нервный механизм поддержания интенсивности внимания.

Следует отметить, что основой возникновения господствующего очага возбуждения является не только сила воздействующего на человека раздражения, но и внутреннее состояние нервной системы, обусловленное предшествующими воздействиями и уже закрепленными нервными связями.

Однако ни закон индукции нервных процессов, ни учение о доминанте не раскрывают до конца механизмы внимания, особенно произвольного. В отличие от животных люди целенаправленно управляют своим вниманием. Именно постановка и уточнение целей деятельности вызывает, поддерживает и переключает

Names

Узнадзе Дмитрий Николаевич (1886-1950) — грузинский психолог и философ. Создатель общепсихологической теории установки. Один из основателей Тбилисского университета, где сформировал отделение психологии, директор Института психологии АН Грузии.

Установка описывалась им как целостное, недифференцированное и бессознательное состояние субъекта, которое предшествует деятельности и выступает опосредствующим звеном между психическим и физическим, позволяющим снять постулат непосредственности. Возникает при столкновении потребности субъекта и объективной ситуации ее удовлетворения.

Узнадзе экспериментально изучал закономерности смены установок, разрабатывал вопросы психотехники, педологии, возрастной и педагогической психологии, зоопсихологии. Особое внимание уделял исследованиям языка, образованию понятий, постижению понятий.

The main results of theoretical searches and experimental studies are reflected in his works "The main provisions of the theory of installation" (1961) and "Experimental principles of the psychology of installation" (1966).

внимание. Поэтому развитие современной науки привело к появлению целого ряда концепций, пытающихся объяснить физиологические механизмы внимания. Современные исследователи большое внимание уделяют поиску механизмов внимания, исследуя нейрофизиологические процессы. Например, установлено, что у здоровых людей в условиях напряженного внимания возникают изменения биоэлектрической активности в лобных долях мозга. Эту активность связывают с работой особого типа нейронов, располагающихся в лобных долях. Первый тип нейронов — «детекторы новизны» активизируются при действии новых стимулов и снижают активность по мере привыкания к ним. В отличие от них нейроны «ожидания» возбуждаются только при встрече организма с объектом, способным удовлетворить актуальную потребность. По сути дела, в этих клетках закодирована информация о различных свойствах предметов и, в зависимости от возникающих потребностей, внимание сосредоточивается на той или иной их стороне. Так, сытая кошка не воспринимает мышь как пищу, но с удовольствием будет играть с ней.

Таким образом, внимание обусловлено активностью целой системы иерархически связанных между собой мозговых структур. Весьма сложная структура физиологических механизмов внимания и противоречивые взгляды на его природу привели к появлению целого ряда психологических теорий внимания.

Н. Н. Ланге, анализируя наиболее известные подходы к пониманию природы внимания, объединил существующие теории и концепции внимания в несколько групп.

/. Внимание как результат двигательного приспособления. Приверженцы этого подхода исходят из того, что поскольку человек может произвольно переносить внимание с одного предмета на другой, то внимание невозможно без мышечных движений. Именно мышечные движения обеспечивают приспособление органов чувств к условиям наилучшего восприятия.

2. Внимание как результат ограниченности объема сознания. Не объясняя, что понимается под объемом сознания, И. Герберт и У. Гамильтон считают, что более

интенсивные представления в состоянии вытеснить или подавить менее интенсивные.

3. Внимание как результат эмоции. Эта теория получила наибольшее признание в английской ассоциационной психологии. Она основывается на утверждении о зависимости внимания от эмоциональной окраски представления. Например, достаточно хорошо известно следующее высказывание представителя данной точки зрения Дж. Миля: «Иметь приятное или тягостное ощущение или идею и быть к ним внимательным — это одно и то же».

4. Внимание как результат апперцепции, т. е. как результат жизненного опыта индивида.

5. Внимание как особая активная способность духа. Сторонники данной позиции принимают внимание за первичную и активную способность, происхождение которой необъяснимо.

6. Внимание как усиление нервной раздражительности. Согласно данной гипотезе, внимание обусловлено увеличением местной раздражительности центральной нервной системы.

7. Теория нервного подавления пытается объяснить основной факт внимания — преобладание одного представления над другими — тем, что один физиологический нервный процесс задерживает или подавляет другие физиологические процессы, результатом чего является факт особой концентрации сознания.

Среди теорий внимания широкую известность также приобрела теория Т. Ри-бо, который считал, что внимание всегда связано с эмоциями и вызывается ими. Особенно тесную связь он усматривал между эмоциями и произвольным вниманием. Рибо полагал, что интенсивность и продолжительность такого внимания обусловлена интенсивностью и продолжительностью ассоциированных с объектом внимания эмоциональных состояний.

Кроме того, Рибо считал, что внимание всегда сопровождается изменениями физического и физиологического состояния организма. Это связано с тем, что с точки зрения 41изиологии внимание как своеобразное состояние включает комплекс сосудистых, дыхательных, двигательных и других произвольных или непроизвольных реакций. При этом особую роль в объяснении природы внимания Рибо отводил движениям. Он считал, что состояние сосредоточенности внимания сопровождается движениями всех частей тела — лица, туловища, конечностей, которые вместе с органическими реакциями выступают как необходимое условие поддержания внимания на данном уровне. Движение физиологически поддерживает и усиливает данное состояние сознания. Так, для органов зрения и слуха внимание означает сосредоточение и задержку движений. Усилие, которое прилагается для сосредоточения и удержания внимания на чем-то, всегда имеет физиологическую основу. Этому состоянию соответствует, по мнению Рибо, мышечное напряжение. В то же время отвлечение внимания Рибо связывал с мышечной усталостью. Следовательно, секрет произвольного внимания, как считал автор данного подхода, заключается в способности управлять движениями. Поэтому не случайно данная теория получила название моторной теории внимания.

Кроме теории Т. Рибо существуют и другие не менее известные подходы к исследованию природы внимания. Например, Д. Н. Узнадзе полагал, что внимание напрямую связано с установкой. По его мнению, установка внутренне выражает

Fig. 14.2. General characteristic of attention

state of attention. Under the influence of the installation, a certain image or impression obtained while perceiving the surrounding reality is highlighted. This image or impression becomes the object of attention, and the process itself was called objectification.

P. Ya. Halperin proposed an equally interesting concept of attention. Its concept consists of the following key points:

1. Attention is one of the moments of orientation research activity and is a psychological action aimed at the content of the image, thought, another phenomenon currently present in the human psyche.

2. The main function of attention is control over the content of the action, mental image, etc. In each human action there are indicative, executive and control parts. This last and presented attention.

3. In contrast to actions aimed at the production of a certain product, the activity of control, or attention, does not have a separate result.

4. Attention as an independent act is allocated only when the action becomes not only mental, but also abbreviated. However, not every control should be considered as attention. Control generally assesses the action, while attention contributes to its improvement.

5. If we consider attention as an activity of mental control, then all concrete acts of attention — both voluntary and involuntary — are the result of the formation of new mental actions.

6. Arbitrary attention is systematically carried out attention, i.e., a form of control carried out according to a predetermined plan, or model.

In conclusion, it should be noted that, despite the considerable number of theories available, the problem of attention did not become less significant. The debate about the nature of attention continues.

14.1.1. Physiological basis of attention

There are several stages or levels in brain activity that provide attention to varying degrees. Attention is reflex in nature and results from a special orienting reflex.

The central mechanisms of attention are associated with the excitation of some nerve centers and the inhibition of others. In N.S. Some of the excitations that occur are so strong that they act as the main ones, suppressing all the others. This main excitation is called the dominant, all other foci in the nervous system - subdominants. Thus, the most important mechanism providing attention is the dominant mechanism discovered by A. Ukhtomsky.

The dominant is an excitation center temporarily dominating in the cortex, which inhibits the work of other nerve centers. The dominant (dominant) at this time point of arousal, ensuring the implementation of any activity, attracts excitement from other centers and at the same time suppresses them, which blocks outsiders, not related to the activity, stimuli, and, at the same time, increases energy excitement of the main dominant focus. The dominant is a steady focus of excitement, thanks to which conditions are created for high concentration, long-term concentration of attention. So, a person who is passionate about work does not notice hunger, extraneous noise, the voices of other people.

Dominant is the physiological basis of attention .

Thus, attention monitors the behavior and maintains the stability of the activity.

14.2.1 Main types of attention

Types of attention:

arbitrary - direction in accordance with the task;

involuntary - for newness, sharpness, contrast, significance. Comes from an approximate reflex.

post - spontaneous - absorption by activity, entry into it and interest arising in connection with this (the dominant principle).

1. Involuntary attention. The complex of involuntary attention includes various physical, psycho-physiological and mental causes. They are interconnected with each other, but conditionally they can be divided into the following four categories.

1) A group of reasons related to the nature of the external stimulus: strength (sharpness) or intensity of the stimulus; contrast between stimuli; novelty, unusual . In other words, the more novelty in an object, the more complex and interesting it is, the stronger the stimulus and the more often it repeats, the easier it can attract attention. Thus, the characteristics of a stimulus affecting a person belong to the first group of causes.

2) A group of reasons related to the compliance of external stimuli with the internal state of a person and, above all, with his needs. Attention is drawn to all that more or less correspond to the ideas or thoughts present in his consciousness at the present moment.

3) A group of reasons related to the general orientation of the individual . An important role is played by the spiritual needs of a person, his interests and expectations. It attracts the attention of everything that interests the most and that constitutes the sphere of sustainable interests, including professional ones. Consequently, the general orientation of the personality, the nature of interests and the presence of previous experience directly affect the occurrence of involuntary attention.

4) A group of reasons related to the feelings that the stimulating stimulus causes in us. That which causes an emotional reaction is the most important cause of involuntary attention. For example, reading an interesting book, a person is fully focused on the perception of its content and does not pay attention to what is happening around him.

2. Arbitrary attention . Main feature: it is driven by a conscious purpose. This kind of attention is closely connected with the will of the person and was developed as a result of labor effort, therefore it is also called volitional, active, intentional. The main function of voluntary attention is the active regulation of mental processes .

Both types of attention are closely related to each other, since voluntary attention arose from involuntary.

3. Post- voluntary attention , like arbitrary, is focused and initially requires volitional efforts, but then a person enters the work: the content and process of the activity, and not only its result, become interesting and significant. Unlike involuntary attention, post-voluntary attention remains associated with conscious goals and is supported by conscious interests. But unlike voluntary attention, there is little or no willpower.

14.2. Main types of attention

In modern psychological science, it is customary to single out several basic types of attention (Fig. 14.2). Orientation and concentration of mental activity can be involuntary or arbitrary . When activity captures us and we do it without any volitional effort, then the focus and concentration of mental processes is involuntary. When we know that we need to perform a certain work, and undertake it because of the goal we have set and the decision made, the direction and concentration of mental processes is already arbitrary. Therefore, in its origin and methods of implementation usually distinguish two main types of attention: involuntary and voluntary.

Involuntary attention is the simplest type of attention. It is often called passive, or forced, because it arises and is maintained independently of a person’s consciousness. Activity captures a person by itself, by virtue of his fascination, entertaining or unexpectedness. However, this understanding of the causes of involuntary attention is very simplistic. Usually, when involuntary attention arises, we deal with a whole complex of reasons. This complex includes various physical, psycho-physiological and mental causes. They are interconnected with each other, but conditionally they can be divided into the following four categories.

The first group of causes is related to the nature of the external stimulus. This must first include the force, or intensity, of the stimulus. Imagine that you are passionate about something. In this case, you may not notice a slight noise on the street or in the next room. But suddenly a loud knock comes from the heavy thing that fell from the table. This will unwittingly draw your attention. Thus, any sufficiently strong irritation — loud sounds, bright light, strong push, strong smell — involuntarily attracts attention. In this case, the most significant role is played not so much by absolute as by the relative strength of the stimulus. For example, if we are passionate about something, we do not notice weak stimuli. This is explained by the fact that their intensity is not large enough compared to the intensity of the stimuli that make up the subject or conditions of our activity. At the same time, in other conditions, for example at night, when we rest, we can react very sensitively to all sorts of rustles, squeaks, etc.

Equally important is the contrast between the stimuli, as well as the duration of the stimulus and its size and shape. This same group of causes should also include the quality of the stimulus, as its novelty, unusual. In this case, under the novelty understand not only the appearance of a previously absent stimulus, but also a change in the physical properties of the acting stimuli, the weakening or cessation of their action, the absence of familiar stimuli, the movement of stimuli in space. Thus, the characteristics of a stimulus affecting a person belong to the first group of causes .

The second group of reasons causing involuntary attention is associated with the correspondence of external stimuli to the internal state of a person, and above all to his needs. Thus, a well-fed and hungry person will react in completely different ways to talking about food. A person experiencing the feeling of hunger will unwittingly pay attention to the conversation that deals with food. From the side of physiology, the action of these causes is explained by the dominant principle proposed by A. A. Ukhtomsky.

The third group of causes is related to the general orientation of the individual. What interests us the most and what constitutes the sphere of our interests, including professional ones, as a rule, pays attention to itself, even if we are faced with this by chance. That is why, walking along the street, the policeman pays attention to the wrongly parked car, and the architect or the artist - to the beauty of the old building. The editor easily finds inaccuracies in the text of the book, which he simply took to read for fun, because identifying stylistic and other errors is the sphere of his professional knowledge.

teresa and supported by a long practice. Consequently, the general orientation of the personality and the presence of previous experience directly affect the onset of involuntary attention.

As the fourth independent group of reasons causing involuntary attention, we should mention the feelings that the stimulating stimulus causes in us. What is interesting to us, what causes a certain emotional reaction in us, is the most important reason for involuntary attention. For example, reading an interesting book, we are fully focused on the perception of its content and do not pay attention to what is happening around us. Such attention, but rightly, can be called predominantly emotional.

Unlike involuntary attention, the main feature of voluntary attention is that it is controlled by a conscious goal. This kind of attention is closely connected with the will of the person and was developed as a result of labor effort, therefore it is also called volitional, active, intentional. Having decided to engage in some kind of activity, we carry out this decision, consciously directing our attention even to what we are not interested in, but what we consider necessary to do. The main function of voluntary attention is the active regulation of mental processes. Thus, voluntary attention is qualitatively different from involuntary. However, both types of attention are closely related to each other, since voluntary attention arose from involuntary. It can be assumed that voluntary attention arose in a person in the process of conscious activity.

The reasons for voluntary attention are not biological, but social in their origin: voluntary attention does not ripen in the body, but is formed in a child when he interacts with adults. As Vygotsky showed, at the earliest (development times, the function of voluntary attention is divided between two people — an adult and a child. An adult selects an object from the environment, pointing at it and calling it with a word, and the child responds to this signal, following the gesture, grabbing object or repeating a word. Thus, this object is allocated for the child from the external zero. Subsequently, the children begin to set goals on their own. It should also be noted the close relationship of voluntary attention with speech. The development of voluntary attention in a child It first appears in the submission of its behavior to the speech instruction of adults, and then, as it masters the speech, in the subordination of its behavior to its own speech instruction.

Despite its qualitative difference from involuntary attention, voluntary attention is also associated with the feelings, interests, and past experience of a person. However, the influence of these moments with voluntary attention is not direct, but indirect. It is mediated by consciously set goals, therefore in this case interests act as interests of a goal, interests of a result of an activity.

There is another kind of attention that we did not talk about. This kind of attention, like an arbitrary one, is focused and initially requires volitional efforts, but then the person “enters” into the work: the content and the process of the activity, and not just its result, become interesting and significant. Such attention was called NF Dobrynin after the arbitrary. For example, a schoolchild, solving a difficult arithmetic problem, initially attaches

366 • Part II. Mental processes

towards this particular effort. He takes on this task only because it needs to be done. The task is difficult and cannot be solved at first, the student is distracted all the time. He has to return himself to the solution of the problem by constant efforts of the will. But here the decision is begun, the correct course is planned more and more clearly. The task is becoming more and more clear. Although it turns out to be difficult, it is possible to solve. The schoolboy is more and more interested in her, she is more and more captures him. He ceases to be distracted:

the task became interesting for him. Attention from the arbitrary became as if involuntary.

In contrast to genuine involuntary attention, post-voluntary attention remains associated with conscious goals and is supported by conscious interests. At the same time, unlike voluntary attention, there is little or no willpower.

Obviously, the enormous significance that post-willful attention has for the pedagogical process. Of course, the teacher can and should contribute to the application of volitional efforts by students, but this process is tedious. Therefore, a good teacher should enthrall a child, interest him so that he works, without wasting his strength, i.e. so that the interest of the goal, the interest of the result of the work turns into immediate interest.

14.3.1 The basic properties of attention

Attention has a number of properties, which include: selectivity, concentration, volume, distribution, switching, sustainability.

1. The selectivity of attention lies in the ability to select significant incentives and ignore minor ones . Through the headphones to the subject, two magnetic recordings were simultaneously fed into both ears. When the subject was asked to carefully listen to one of them, the subject easily repeated the words he heard. But from another record he did not catch almost anything. One gets the impression that there is a sort of “filter” in the brain, which limits the ability to pick up signals coming from different sources. However, it was found that this filter does not always work flawlessly. Thus, with auditory perception, it is enough that the word that is especially important for him, for example, his name, is pronounced into the other ear of the subject, so that he automatically changes the channel of perception. This restriction of the possibilities of attention is manifested even when the auditory and visual systems act simultaneously. For example, during a lecture a student may read an interesting book. However, even if his attention jumps from one channel to another, it is unlikely that he will be able to understand well at least what is transmitted on one of them, and even more so on both.

2. Concentration means that there is a focus in which all mental or conscious activity is gathered. By concentration is meant the degree or intensity of concentration . Концентрация является следствием возбуждения в доминантном очаге при одновременном торможении остальных зон коры головного мозга.

3. Объем. Внимание может быть охарактеризовано со стороны его объема. Под объемом внимания в психологии понимают то количество впечатлений, которое может быть с полной ясностью и отчетливостью воспринято в одном акте внимания .

По подсчетам В.Вундта, человеческое сознание может охватить одновременно от 16 до 40 простых впечатлений , в то время как внимание способно подготовить организм к реагированию