Factors influencing voluntary attention. Factors that determine attention

Factors that ensure the selective nature of cognitive processes and the volume and stability of conscious activity can be combined into two main groups 1.

External factors that determine the focus of attention. These primarily include the intensity and strength of the stimulus. Any strong irritant (sharp sound, bright light, unpleasant smell, etc.) attracts a person’s attention. Plays a special role in attracting attention stimulus contrast Therefore, if the subject claims that he did not pay attention to any strong stimulus, then this may indicate that he was either in some unusual psychophysiological state, or simply does not want to tell the truth for some reason.

Another external factor influencing the quality of attention may be novelty of the stimulus(absolute or relative) or complete absence of the usual stimulus.

One of the external factors that positively influences the overall level of attention is the structurally ordered organization of stimuli acting on different analyzers. Therefore, in the process of any activity it is necessary to ensure the most rational forms of organizing the flow of information (A.R. Luria). This recommendation is of particular relevance, for example, for an investigator acting in a situation of conducting a search, inspecting a crime scene, when the ability to organize his attention largely ensures the high-quality performance of his official duties and obtaining the most complete amount of evidentiary information.

Subjective factors that determine the focus of attention. These factors include: the correspondence of external stimuli to a person’s needs, the importance that he attaches to these stimuli. Subjective factors influencing the maintenance of attention also include feelings, emotions that are caused by perceived objects, and a person’s interest in the phenomenon being studied. Strong interest makes relevant signals dominant,

while inhibiting side stimuli that are not related to the sphere of human interests.

A subject who commits illegal actions is under the intense influence of external and subjective factors, which sometimes prevent him from concentrating and purposefully managing his attention at the scene of the incident, as a result of which he fails to completely destroy or hide traces of his involvement in the crime committed.

The investigator’s assimilation of this obvious truth must mobilize all his intellectual strength, knowledge, and experience to search for traces of a crime in the most seemingly hopeless investigative situation from the point of view of solving a crime. When solving such complex problems, a special role is played by the volitional efforts of the investigator, allowing him to focus his attention on certain objects of the scene of the incident.

The level of attention is significantly influenced by: the general state of human health, psychophysiological disorders, fatigue, leading to a decrease in attention span and the appearance of absent-mindedness

If external factors largely determine the level involuntary attention which affects the processes of perception of events by witnesses and victims, then subjective factors, especially will, form the highest form of attention inherent in a person - voluntary attention which the lawyer must manage.

In the process of activity, the intensity of attention changes and a moment may come when volitional efforts are no longer required to maintain it at the proper level. In such cases, they speak of the most developed, stable, socially conditioned form of attention - post-voluntary attention directing a person’s cognitive processes in activities that are personally significant to him.

Characteristics of attention.

Attention is a complex mental phenomenon, endowed with a number of characteristics that characterize it, among which the following can be distinguished:

Attention span. The scope of attention is determined by the number of isolated elements simultaneously perceived by the subject. For an adult, the attention span covers approximately 6 elements. If semantic connections are established between these elements, then the amount of attention increases. However, an excessive increase in attention span can negatively affect its intensity and, therefore, negatively affect performance. This feature of attention should be taken into account during the inspection of the crime scene and search. The desire to complete work faster by expanding the scope of attention, as a rule, leads to smaller objects, various kinds of traces, etc. slipping out of sight.

Concentration and distribution of attention. Concentration of attention is expressed in the fact that, if necessary, a person’s consciousness, as a rule, is directed to one object or controls one type of activity.

However, concentrating attention on one object leads to a positive result only if the subject is able to timely and consistently switch it to other objects. Therefore, such properties of attention as concentration, distribution, volume are closely related to each other.

Distribution of attention allows you to simultaneously perform several actions and monitor several independent processes. The ability to distribute attention is a professionally important quality of a lawyer, especially an investigator, prosecutor, and judge. In conditions of increasing workload, when the investigator may have a significant number of criminal cases in progress, it is very important that these cases with their deadlines are constantly in the investigator’s sphere of attention and for each of them he can plan and carry out investigative actions in a timely manner, within the established deadlines. legal time limits for investigation.

Sustainability of attention. This quality of attention is determined by the duration of concentration of consciousness on any one object. It is well known that attention is subject to periodic involuntary fluctuations. The periods of such oscillations range on average from 2 to 12 s. They are associated with fatigue and adaptation of the senses. This once again confirms that attention in its physiological basis is unstable.

From the point of view of solving practical problems, we are more interested in fluctuations in attention that occur when a person is engaged in any activity for a long time. It has been noted that under these conditions, involuntary distraction of attention from the object occurs after 15-20 minutes.

The simplest way to maintain sustained attention is through volitional effort. But it acts until the mental capabilities are exhausted, after which a state of fatigue inevitably appears, which can be prevented by short breaks in work, especially if it is monotonous and associated with significant psychophysiological overload.

You can also extend the stability of attention for a certain time if you try to find new signs in a particular object, look at it as if from the outside, from a different angle. Otherwise, our consciousness comes “to a dead end,” and then “the preconditions for easy distraction are created and fluctuations in attention inevitably occur” 1 .

Thus, it is possible to maintain the stability of attention to the subject being studied at the proper level, as if forcing this subject to “develop” before our eyes, so that it reveals its new content to us each time. “Only changing and updating content,” writes S.L. about this process. Rubinstein, - is able to maintain attention" 1. This position of psychology underlies the dynamic stage of crime scene inspection developed in criminology.

Switching attention. The stability of attention does not exclude its flexibility, switchable™, which underlies the subject’s ability to quickly navigate in a changing environment and restructure in the course of planned work.

A very common technique that allows maintaining attention at the proper level throughout the working day is a change of actions (types of activity), for example, alternating interrogations with drawing up procedural documents, studying received materials with receiving visitors.

Attentiveness is a professionally important personality trait of a lawyer. Attentiveness is formed during active participation in professional activities, as a result of the lawyer’s development of will, determination, and awareness of the importance of the tasks being solved. Attention underlies such professionally significant personality traits of a lawyer as curiosity, observation, high efficiency and creative activity.

CONTROL QUESTIONS

1. What is memory?

2. Types of memory, their characteristics.

3. Basic processes of memory, taking into account the laws of memory by a lawyer.

4. Mnemonic techniques that improve memorization and their use by a lawyer in his professional activities.

5. Techniques for activating the memory of participants in legal proceedings.

6. What is thinking, its types?

7. Describe verbal-logical thinking, show its role in the activities of a lawyer.

8. What are the features of creative thinking?

9. Describe the stages of the thinking process. How do they manifest themselves in the activities of the investigator?

10. What qualities should distinguish a lawyer’s thinking?

11. List ways to enhance mental activity that can be used by lawyers in their professional activities.

12. What is imagination and what is its significance in the work of a lawyer?

13. What is attention? List its characteristics and types.

14. What factors influence the volume and quality of attention?

15. The role of attention in the professional activity of a lawyer.

GLOSSARY

Name of the concept	Its contents
Memory	This is a complex mental phenomenon, manifested in a person’s ability to remember, retain consciousness and subsequently reproduce various circumstances that took place in the past.
Figurative memory	Memory based on various ideas, visual, auditory, taste and other images.
Motor memory	this is memory, which is based on the processes of memorization, preservation in consciousness of motor acts, a set of movements, human movement in space
Emotional memory	Memory, which consists of imprinting and preserving experiences and feelings in the mind.
Verbal-logical memory	This is a type of memory, the main content of which is our thoughts expressed in verbal form.
Involuntary memory	most often accompanies activities that do not pursue the goal of remembering and preserving the circumstances surrounding it.
Arbitrary memory	Memory, mediated by the goal and objectives of capturing, storing in consciousness, and sometimes reproducing some facts and knowledge. This is the most productive type of memory
Short-term memory	Memory, which is characterized by a very short time of retention of traces after a single exposure to a stimulus.
Long-term memory	Long-term retention of acquired knowledge and acquired skills is inherent. It is unlimited in time, valid throughout a person’s life.
RAM	ensures the storage and reproduction of the information that is necessary to achieve the goal of a certain action, after which it ceases to function. It includes some signs of both long-term and short-term memory, occupying an intermediate place among them.
Memorization	This is a memory process, as a result of which new information is consolidated and stored in the mind.
"Zeigarnik effect"	when unfinished, interrupted actions are remembered almost twice as often as completed ones. This pattern is due to the fact that emotionally charged impressions accompanying unfinished actions cause more persistent foci of excitation in the cerebral cortex
edge factor	when the first and last elements in a series are retained in memory better than the elements located in the middle. The elements that are remembered the worst are those slightly offset from the center towards the end of the row.
Playback	This is a memory process, as a result of which previously learned material is updated.
Recognition	this is the reproduction of an object upon its repeated perception based on the imprinted image of this object
reminiscence	strengthening of new semantic connections in memory during delayed reproduction.
Forgetting	a memory process that is the reverse of memorization and retention. Forgetting is more active, the less often the learned material is used by a person in his activities
Thinking	this is an indirect reflection in human consciousness of the essential properties, connections and relationships of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world
Imagination	is a mental process consisting of creating new images of objects, phenomena based on existing knowledge and ideas .
Attention	this is a mental phenomenon consisting of the concentration of consciousness, individual mental processes on a specific object with simultaneous distraction from extraneous stimuli

Attention is the direction and concentration of a person’s consciousness on certain objects while simultaneously distracting from others. What attention is drawn to becomes a “figure” for us, and everything else becomes a “background”. The importance of attention in a person’s life can hardly be overestimated; it is also called a regulator of activity. Types of attention. Attention can be involuntary or voluntary. Involuntary - spontaneously occurring attention caused by the action of a strong, contrasting or new, unexpected stimulus, as well as a significant phenomenon that evokes an emotional response. For example, attention is involuntarily attracted by a strong noise, a flashily dressed person, a shooting star in the night sky, or a child crying on the street. We do not need to force ourselves to concentrate on these events; here we involuntarily stop our gaze. free attention - conscious concentration on certain information; it requires volitional efforts and, if there is no interest, becomes tiring after 20 minutes. For example, reading educational material. If you don’t force yourself, you can get a bad grade tomorrow. This is where our capacity for voluntary attention comes to our rescue. Post-voluntary attention is evoked through entry into an activity and the interest that arises in connection with this, as a result, focus is maintained for a long time and tension is relieved. A person does not get tired, although post-voluntary attention can last for hours. For example, a book at first seemed boring, and then the person began to read it. Or at the beginning of the lesson you listened to me only out of politeness, and then suddenly you became interested and stopped forcing yourself to be focused on the material that I was presenting.

Factors influencing voluntary attention.

The reasons that influence the ability to voluntary attention and its characteristics include:

Installation

Motivation

Emotional condition

Stimulus intensity

Significance of the stimulus or situation

Features of the situation.

Personality characteristics (e.g. tendency to worry and worry)

Attention can be developed. Attention training is very important for successful study, and indeed for any purposeful activity.

21. Types of memory and their features:

Memory is a process consisting of remembering, preserving, restoring and forgetting the acquired experience. The ability to store information about events in the external world and the body’s reactions for a long time and repeatedly use it in the sphere of consciousness to organize subsequent activities.

Memory is a very unreliable data store, the contents of which can easily change under the influence of new information. The events of our life pass through our memory. Some of them linger in its cells for a long time, while others only for the time it takes to pass through these cells. On the other hand, if all non-essential information were retained, then the brain, in the end, would no longer be able to separate the important from the unimportant and its activity would be completely paralyzed. Therefore, memory is the ability not only to remember, but also to forgetting.

Types of memory.

In the structure of memory, several types can be distinguished according to five different criteria: according to content, randomness of use, time of storing received information, the use of mnemonic devices, and the participation of thinking in memory processes.

Motor memory- this is the memorization, preservation and reproduction of various movements and their systems. It serves as the basis for the formation of walking, writing, labor and other skills.

Emotional memory- This is a memory for feelings. It allows you to regulate behavior depending on previously experienced feelings, provides the ability to sympathize and empathize.

Figurative memory- this is a memory for ideas, for pictures of nature and life, as well as for sounds, smells, tastes. It can be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory. Her ideas, in particular, are related to professional activities. Verbal - logical memory - with this memory, thoughts expressed in words are remembered, reflecting the essence of the phenomena being studied . This type of memory is unique to humans.

According to the degree of randomness of use:

Involuntary memory, in which memorization and reproduction occurs without volitional effort, of course.

Arbitrary memory- memory controlled by the will of a person, when he consciously sets himself the goal of remembering or remembering something.

By duration of information storage:

Short-term memory is a method of storing information for a short period of time. In short-term memory, not a complete, but only a generalized image of what is perceived, its most essential elements, is stored.

RAM This is a memory designed to store information for a certain, predetermined period, ranging from several seconds to several days. The storage period of information in this memory is determined by the task faced by a person, and is designed only for solving this problem. After this, information may disappear from RAM.

Long-term memory This is a memory capable of storing information for an almost unlimited period. Information that has entered the storage of long-term memory can be reproduced by a person as many times as necessary without loss. Moreover, repeated and systematic reproduction of this information only strengthens its traces in long-term memory. The latter presupposes the ability of a person, at any necessary moment, to recall what was once remembered by him. When using long-term memory, recall often requires thinking and willpower, so its functioning in practice is usually associated with these two processes

By participation of thinking in processes:

Mechanical memory based on simple, repeated repetition of material. With its help, multiplication tables, formulas, etc. are memorized.

Logical memory, is based on understanding, comprehension of the material, on its presentation in the form of an easily memorized diagram.

Types of attention.
A person has different types of attention, each of which he needs and each of which plays its own role in his life. These types include: involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention; direct and indirect attention; natural and socially conditioned attention.
There are three types of attention: involuntary, voluntary, post-voluntary. Involuntary attention the simplest and most genetically original, also called passive , forced , since it arises and is maintained regardless of the goals facing a person. The activity captures the person in these cases by itself, due to its fascination or surprise. A person involuntarily surrenders to objects, phenomena, and activities that influence him.
Unlike involuntary voluntary attention driven by conscious purpose. It is closely related to the will of a person and was developed as a result of labor efforts, which is why it is also called strong-willed, active, deliberate . Having decided to engage in some activity, we carry out this decision, consciously directing our attention even to what is not interesting to us at the moment, but what we need to do. The main function of voluntary attention is the active regulation of mental processes.
Another type of attention, which, like voluntary attention, is purposeful in nature and requires initial volitional efforts, but then the person, as it were, “enters” into the work: the content and process of the activity, and not just its result, become interesting and significant. This attention has been called post-voluntary (N.F. Dobrynin). By first showing voluntary attention and forcing oneself to engage in some activity without expressed interest in it, a person is more likely to become so interested in this activity that there is no need to make efforts to maintain attention on it. Attention goes from voluntary to involuntary. However, in contrast to truly involuntary attention, post-voluntary attention remains associated with conscious goals and is supported by conscious interests. At the same time, it is also different from voluntary attention, since there is no or almost no volitional effort.
Post-voluntary attention is characterized by prolonged concentration, intense intensity of mental activity, and high labor productivity.
Direct call attention that is attracted and retained by the very object to which it is directed. In this case, between the object that attracts attention and the process of attention itself, there is nothing else that would participate in its regulation.
Indirect is called attention, the processes of which (attracting attention, switching, distraction, concentration, distribution) are regulated with the help of additional means not given to a person by nature. Means of controlling attention include speech, special signs that direct a person’s attention, for example an arrow pointing in a certain direction, a gesture...
Natural They call attention, which is given to a person from birth, by nature, which is included in the work early and gradually improves as the brain matures. Such attention practically does not depend on the experience acquired by a person in the process of life, on his training and upbringing. It has been proven that already at the end of the 1st month of a child’s life, natural attention is included in the work, when the child begins to pay attention to new stimuli.
Socially conditioned is the attention that a person acquires after birth and improves during life. This is attention to objects and phenomena related to human cultural life (books, music, instruments, appliances, things made by human hands, events occurring in society).
Factors that determine attention

What factors is a person's attention determined? It is possible to highlight at least two groups factors that ensure the selective nature of mental processes, determining both the direction, volume and stability of conscious activity.

To the first group include factors characterizing the structure of external stimuli, reaching a person (structure external field).

To the second - factors related to the activities of the subject itself(structure of the internal field).

Let's look at each group separately.

1. The first group consists of factors externally perceived by the subject irritants; they determine the direction, volume and stability of attention, and come closer to the factors of the structure of perception.

One of the factors included in this group is intensity (strength) of the stimulus. If a subject is presented with a group of identical or different stimuli, one of which stands out due to its intensity (size, color, etc.), the subject’s attention is attracted by this particular stimulus. Naturally, when a subject enters a dimly lit room, his attention is immediately drawn to a light bulb that suddenly lights up. It is characteristic that in those cases when two stimuli of equal strength appear in the perceived field and when the relations between them are so balanced that none of them dominates, a person’s attention becomes unstable, and problems arise. fluctuations in attention in which one or the other stimulus becomes dominant. Above, when analyzing the laws of structural perception, we have already given examples of such “unstable structures”.

Another external factor that determines the direction of attention is novelty of the stimulus or its difference from other stimuli.

If, among well-known stimuli, one appears that is sharply different from the rest or is unusual, new, it immediately begins to attract attention and causes a special orienting reflex.

Let's give an example of an experiment.

In its first part, among the identical circles, there is a single cross, sharply different from the other figures; in the second, several rows of identical lines are given, and in one of these rows there is a gap that distinguishes this place from the rest; in the third, among identical large points, one weak point is given that differs from them.

It is easy to see that in all cases attention is directed to different, a “new” element, which sometimes retains the same physical strength as other, familiar stimuli, and sometimes in its intensity can be even weaker than them. It is not difficult to remember that if a familiar, monotonously repeated sound (for example, the roar of a motor) suddenly stops, the absence of a stimulus can become a factor that attracts attention.

Both mentioned conditions determine direction attention. However, there are external factors that determine its volume.

We have already said above that the perception of environmental stimuli reaching a person depends on their structural organization. It is easy to see that we cannot successfully perceive a large number of randomly scattered stimuli, but we can easily do this if they are organized into certain structures.

The structural organization of the perceived field is one of the most powerful means of controlling our perception and one of the most important factors in expanding its volume, and the psychologically sound, rational organization of the structure of the perceived field is one of the most important tasks engineering psychology. It is not difficult to see how important it becomes to ensure the most rational forms of organizing the flow of information reaching the pilot operating the instruments of high-speed or ultra-high-speed aircraft.

All of the listed factors that determine the direction and volume of attention relate to the characteristics of the external stimuli affecting the subject, in other words, to the structure information coming from the external environment.

It's easy to see how important it is to take these factors into account in order to learn scientifically control a person's attention.

2. The second group of factors that determine the direction of attention are those that are associated not so much with the external environment, but with the subject and with the structure of its activities.

This group of factors includes, first of all, the influence that needs, interests And "installations" the subject on his perception and on the course of his activity.

Analyzing the problems of the biological evolution of animal behavior, we have already seen the decisive role played in animal behavior biological importance signals.

We pointed out that the duck emits plant odors, and the falcon - putrefactive odors, which are vital for them, that the bee reacts to complex shapes, which are signs of flowers, ignoring simple geometric shapes, devoid of biological significance for it, that the cat is alive reacting to the scratching of a mouse, does not pay attention to the sounds of flipping a book or the rustling of a newspaper. The fact that animals' attention is attracted by vital signals is quite well known.

All this equally applies to man, with the only difference that those needs and interests that characterize a person, in the overwhelming majority, are not of the nature of biological instincts and drives, but of the nature of complex motivating factors formed in social history. For example, a person interested in sports will single out from all the information that reaches him the one that relates to a football match, and a person interested in radio engineering news will pay attention to those books on the shelf that relate specifically to this subject.

It is easy to see that a person’s strong interest, which makes some signals dominant, simultaneously inhibits all side signals that are not related to the sphere of his interests. The well-known facts that scientists, immersed in solving a complex problem, cease to perceive all collateral stimuli, clearly indicate this.

Essential for understanding the factors that direct human attention is structural organization of human activity.

It is known that human activity is determined by need or motive and is always aimed at a specific goal. If the motive in some cases may remain unconscious, the purpose and subject of its activity are always realized. It is known, finally, that this is precisely why the goal of an action differs from the means and operations by which it is achieved.

While individual operations are not automated, the implementation of each of them constitutes the goal of a given segment of activity and attracts attention; It is enough to remember how the attention of an inexperienced shooter strains to pull the trigger, or the attention of a beginner writing on a typewriter strains to each stroke of the key. When an activity is automated, the individual operations that comprise it cease to attract attention and begin to proceed without awareness, while the main goal continues to be realized. It is enough to carefully analyze the shooting process of a well-trained marksman or the writing process of an experienced typist on a typewriter to see this.

All this shows that the direction of attention is determined psychological structure of activity and depends significantly on the degree of its automation. The general task that directs human activity highlights as the subject of his attention that system of signals or connections that are part of the evoked human activity that is caused by this task. The specific goal that the person solving the problem sets for himself makes the signals or actions related to it the center of attention. The process of automation of activity leads to the fact that individual actions that attracted attention become automatic operations, and a person’s attention begins to shift to final goals, ceasing to be attracted by well-established habitual operations. Perhaps the most important fact is that the direction of attention is directly dependent on the success or failure of the activity.

Successful completion of an activity immediately eliminates the tension that remained in the person the entire time he was trying to solve the problem. For example, a person who puts a letter in the mailbox immediately forgets about the fulfilled intention, it stops bothering him. On the contrary, an unfinished activity or an unsuccessful task continues to create tension and attract attention, maintaining it until the task is successfully completed.

Attention comes in like control mechanism into the apparatus of the “action acceptor”: it provides signals indicating that the task has not yet been completed, the action has not been completed, and it is these “reverse signals” that prompt the subject to active activity.

Thus, A person’s attention is determined by the structure of his activity, reflects its course and serves as a mechanism for its control.

All this makes attention one of the most significant aspects of human activity.
More details: http://bookap.info/genpsy/luriya_lektsii_po_obshchey_psihologii/gl45.shtm

36.Structure of attention properties.

1. Will as a factor
Little can be said about the factors of voluntary attention. Already from the name itself it is clear that the main and, one might say, the only factor in this form of attention is our will. In this case, attention is not influenced by either the intensity factor or the change factor. The decisive role is played by the intention, the conscious desire of the subject. When we need to solve a problem, our attention is directed not to intense or changing stimuli acting at the moment from the environment, but to what needs to be done. In this case, we, of course, have to suppress our current interest, often spending a lot of effort on this in order to ensure a systematic, stable direction of attention.
It is obvious that voluntary attention is, as Ribot noted, a product of rather high cultural development. Voluntary attention could arise only on the basis of that form of practice that is the specific property of a person. Voluntary attention originated and developed in the process of labor: “As soon as the need for labor arose, voluntary attention became the primary factor in this new form of struggle for existence. As soon as a person acquired the ability to work, that is, to carry out activities that are not attractive, but necessary, representing a means of subsistence, he also developed voluntary attention. It is easy to prove that before the emergence of civilization, voluntary attention either did not exist at all, or, like lightning, manifested itself only instantly. Voluntary attention is a social phenomenon... voluntary attention is an adaptation to the conditions of higher, social life.”
The indirect nature of voluntary attention
The first period in the development of a person’s voluntary attention is the time when a person, not yet possessing the ability to organize his attention, still tried to direct someone else’s attention, which was not so difficult. For these purposes, it was enough to use what involuntarily attracted attention, thereby directing the attention of his colleague in the right direction. As you can see, the hand played a huge role in this - after all, showing, pointing with the hand is the most common means of directing attention. It is interesting that the ability to transfer the gaze from the hand to the indicated object, as can be seen, is especially characteristic of humans. Consequently, the switching of attention initially did not occur directly, but through something third, and we can say that to this day it has remained so: voluntary attention - indirect attention. In this sense, it is very interesting that at the initial stage of learning to read, a person follows the words with his finger, thereby, apparently, helping his attention: where it is difficult to be attentive, a person usually resorts to the help of external means.
An outstanding achievement of Soviet psychology, in particular Vygotsky and his school, is undoubtedly the fact that the importance of mediation, mediating signs in human mental development was emphasized and experimentally substantiated. In particular, the essence of voluntary attention also lies in mediation: a person pays attention to the patterns that direct the natural process of attention, and subsequently, when a task arises to direct his own or someone else’s attention, he resorts to these patterns, thereby using them arbitrarily.
Expectation
A typical case of voluntary attention can be considered expectation, so its study is of particular interest.
Suppose we are waiting to receive some impression; this means that our attention is directed to this future impression, and as soon as it appears, it will immediately capture our attention. How do we do this? According to Müller, this happens in the following way: we try, as far as possible, to restore the state we experienced when perceiving this impression in the past. It is not difficult to restore body position, since we already have a good command of body motor skills and are able to direct it in the right direction. As for the mental content, we restore it in the form of a representation, trying to represent it as best as possible. When, under these conditions, that is, conditions of expectation, the expected impression appears, it naturally instantly captures attention. We can say that in this case the first period of attention - the period of adaptation, or adaptation, which requires, as noted above, a certain time - falls out of the attention process itself, turning into a period of waiting. Therefore, it is clear that the process itself is shortened.
Summarizing everything that has been said by various authors regarding expectation, we can conclude the following: a specific representation of a future impression is not mandatory, expectation is possible without it; It is also not necessary for the subject to experience tension. The main and fundamental thing is the presence of a task, either in the form of a specific thought, or intimate knowledge, or an attitude. Without this latter, according to Frebes, expectation is unable to create even the most vivid performance.
The influence of attention
Revitalization of activity
as the main effect of attention
The influence of attention on a person’s mental activity is enormous. We can say that it represents the most important condition underlying the possibility of fruitful activity. The fact is that each individual person, at each given stage of his development, has at his disposal, as can be seen, only a certain amount of energy. What this energy will be directed to, in the form of what activity it will manifest itself, depends on our attention. However, since attention means the direction of our mental energy in one direction or another, then it is obvious that the influence of attention should indeed be very great and should manifest itself, first of all, in the activation of the corresponding mental activity. When an artist creates a work, both his attention and activity are maximally concentrated on this work. When Archimedes was completely immersed in his geometric problems, his psyche worked most actively, of course, in the sphere of mental operations; When a person learns to ride a bicycle, trying with intense attention to restore his disturbed balance, the most animated activity takes place in the muscular system of his body.
The natural consequence of this lively work of attention is a faster, more accurate, more fruitful flow of activity. Having examined individual directions of human mental activity - perception, representation, thinking, fantasy, feelings, we will be convinced that the revival of attention is followed everywhere by a similar effect, but, of course, in forms corresponding to each of these directions.
Sensory activity
What influence does attention have on such a form of activity as perception? We already have a general answer: it revives this activity, that is, our sensory mechanism in this case begins to work more energetically than when attention acts primarily in a different direction. As a result, we get a higher quality product - clearer and more distinct sensations and perceptions. So, ultimately, we can say that the influence of attention on sensory activity is manifested in the fact that our sensory contents, perceptions and ideas become more salient and distinct.
And indeed, everyone knows perfectly well that what is perceived more carefully is always clearer and more distinct than what is perceived less carefully! This position was also clarified in experimental conditions: the subjects were tachistoscopically - just as when conducting experiments on the volume of attention - presented with several simple stimuli and asked to answer how many elements they perceived clearly. It turned out that: 1) if the subjects received a warning signal before the exposure, they noticed the stimuli faster and more correctly; 2) if something prevented the subjects from concentrating, for example, when they were presented with some other external stimulus along with a tachytoscopic stimulus, they noticed much fewer elements. Obviously, weakening attention is to blame for this. As Westphal's experiments showed, there are several levels of clarity of perception, each of which depends on how intensely the subject pays attention to the task.
Thus, it is safe to say that the effect of attention is to enhance the clarity and distinctness of sensory content.
3. The question of the influence of attention on the intensity of sensory contents
Since attention enhances the salience of a sensation or perception, it can be assumed that it has a similar effect on its intensity. Moreover, clarity and distinctness, on the one hand, and intensity, on the other, are purely quantitative characteristics of sensation, being purely quantitative characteristics.
This question is one of those questions that classical psychology of the 19th century explored with particular interest and energy. Today, almost nothing remains of this lively interest - this issue, together with the problem of sensation, has moved into the background. Nevertheless, its consideration is not without a certain interest - both in essence and especially in historical terms.
The question of the enhancing influence of attention on the intensity of sensations was resolved positively by almost everyone. The only exception was Munstenberg, who argued, contrary to generally accepted opinion, that attention does not enhance sensation, but, on the contrary, weakens it. But no one supported him, and he remained the only adherent of this view. The disagreement among psychologists on this issue was manifested only in the fact that some were of the opinion about the direct, immediate influence of attention on the intensity of sensation, while others denied this, believing rather that the intensity of sensation increases not because attention directly acts on it, but in due to the fact that it contributes to the adaptation of the senses, thereby creating the precondition for increasing the intensity of sensation - attention only indirectly affects the intensity of sensation. The first opinion was held by particularly authoritative psychologists - Wundt, G. Müller, Stumpf, in the second - Lipps et al.
Strong arguments in favor of the first opinion were obtained as a result of the experiments of Meyer and Stumpf. Meyer, as a result of straining his attention, received such a visual and intense idea that it even left behind an optical trace. The following conclusion follows from this fact: as soon as under the influence of attention the intensity of representation rises to the level of intensity of perception, then a similar effect should appear in the case of sensation!
Stumpf proved that through attention one can strengthen any tone in a weak chord, thus hearing a certain melody. As for strong tones, he failed to increase their intensity even more. In general, it has been noted that the influence of attention affects the intensity of a weak sensation, although some authors point to a similar effect in the case of a strong sensation (Bentley). The most indisputable results are provided by experiments on comparison of thresholds. As it turned out, in the case of greater concentration of attention, the threshold is lower than when concentration of attention is weaker; it is obvious that the intensity of perception increases.
Thus, the question of the influence of attention on the intensity of sensory contents is resolved positively - if not in general, then at least in relation to sensory contents of weak intensity.
4. The influence of attention on motor activity
The revitalization of motor activity, caused by motor attention, is expressed in an increase in speed, intensification and refinement of movements.
This is very easy to prove:
Instruct the subject to tap the table with the tip of a pencil as quickly as possible. Compare how many times he will be able to do this in case of concentration and in case of any interference. You will be convinced that in the first case the result will be higher than in the second.
Instruct the subject to squeeze the dynamometer with his hand as much as possible under conditions similar to the previous experiment; It turns out that under the influence of attention, motor skills (muscle contraction) will become more intense.
Instruct subjects to draw lines of a certain length under the same conditions, and you will see that if they concentrate their attention, their motor skills will be much more accurate.
It is almost certain that this effect of attention on motor activity is explained by the fact that, as has long been known, it contributes to sensorimotor adaptation.
This fact was discovered during the so-called “reaction experiments”. Ludwig Lange was the first to notice that the time of the so-called simple reaction was either longer or shorter. It turned out that when the subject was given the task along with the signal: after hearing the signal, remove your finger as quickly as possible from the electrical switch (connected to a sensitive device, for example, a Peak chronoscope, to record time, which stops the flow of electric current, as a result of which the device’s hand stops, pointing in thousandths of a second - the so-called “sigma” - the period of time from the moment the signal is given to the raising of the finger, that is, to the reaction; this period of time is called the reaction time), then focusing attention on the task always noticeably reduces the reaction time.
Lange (1888) was the first to notice that when the subject pays more attention to the signal rather than to his reaction, the reaction time increases (sensory reaction), but when he focuses attention on his movement in order not to be late to respond as quickly as possible, the reaction time is noticeable contracts (motor reaction).
This circumstance clearly shows what attention is capable of when it is directed to motor skills: it speeds up the reaction following the preliminary perception of the signal; therefore, attention contributes to sensorimotor adaptation.
5. The influence of attention on memory and intellectual operations
The influence of attention on memory is very great. Some forms of memory, such as involuntary memory, are so closely related to attention that it is difficult to distinguish whether you are dealing with the process of attention or memory. In this sense, it is very significant that the Germans also call immediate memory “the ability to notice” (Me^a^ke11). And indeed, numerous experimental materials have been accumulated that clearly prove that the fruitfulness of immediate memory most of all depends on the attention with which the memorized material is perceived.
Attentive perception of the material being remembered is also important in the case of other forms of memory. However, the influence of attention on memory is not limited to this. Here we are interested in this question from a slightly different plane, in particular, what effect does concentration of attention have on the process of memory, or reproduction. As soon as, under the influence of attention, the idea becomes clear and distinct, this means that under these conditions, facilitation and clarification of its reproduction occurs. This is especially obvious in the case of voluntary memory - recollection.
As for intellectual operations, it has long been known that without the participation of attention it is not even possible to talk about them: attention is quite rightly considered the primary condition for any learning. But there are also experimental arguments that once again confirm the undoubted legitimacy of this observation and specify it. There is no point in dwelling on this. Let us only note what became clear during the course of experiments on studying attention. It turned out that under the influence of attention the fruitfulness and accuracy of mental work increase. However, from special studies it is known that speed and accuracy of work have mutually opposite directions: the more one is, the less the other. According to the results of Crosland (1924), there is a negative correlation between them (specifically, 0.47). Therefore, when understanding the influence of attention on mental work, both of these factors should be taken into account - speed and accuracy.
6. Attention and feeling
According to Tichener, a feeling cannot become the subject of attention. Instead of becoming more pronounced and intense under the influence of attention, it, on the contrary, weakens and fades. For example, if an angry person begins to carefully analyze his emotional state, then as a result he will calm down, in any case, the emotion will almost disappear. Therefore, according to Tichener, attention should be understood as the level of clarity of representation alone.
Of course, it is wrong to talk about attention in relation to feelings in the sense that was done in the case of cognitive processes. The fact is that during cognitive processes, for example perception, the energy of attention and the activity of perception coincide - here attention means the revitalization of the energy of perception. But in the case of feelings the situation is different: a feeling, such as grief, is possible only if we are aware of the circumstance that caused it. No one experiences grief without a reason: without knowing about the death of her child, a mother does not experience any grief. Thus, the direct source of feelings is cognitive processes, awareness of the objective circumstances that determine these feelings. When attention is focused precisely on the source of feelings, that is, with a clear understanding of the circumstances that caused the feeling, the energy of feeling and attention is combined, as a result of which the feeling intensifies. But when our attention stops on the feeling itself, then the experience of its source, the circumstances that caused it, is deprived of mental activity, which begins to work in a different direction, thereby ceasing to nourish the feeling.
However, such a situation is not specific only in the case of feelings, but always manifests itself in similar conditions. Take, for example, dancing, playing a musical instrument, or some other automatic action. It is known that here attention acts in exactly the same way as in the case of feelings: when performing automatic actions, it is enough to pay attention to any individual action for the automaticity to be disrupted, and dancing or playing becomes difficult. This happens for the same reason as in the case of feelings: automatic behavior is based on the general mood of the body, and when attention is directed to it, automatic behavior is performed well. However, if attention moves to individual acts, then the general mood of the body - the basis of automatic behavior - suffers, as a result of which automatic behavior is disrupted.

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Development of attention

Introduction

The flow of information, the expansion of human contacts, the development of diverse forms of mass culture, and the growth in the pace of life lead to an increase in the amount of knowledge necessary for the life of a modern person. The ongoing changes in society have also influenced the development of children, who are actively involved in the whirlpool of our hectic life, and have put forward new demands in general. One of the indispensable conditions for successful schooling is the development of voluntary, intentional attention in preschool age. The school places demands on children's spontaneous attention in terms of the ability to act without distraction, follow instructions and control the result obtained.

Children starting school most often suffer from absent-mindedness or underdeveloped attention. Developing and improving attention is just as important as teaching writing, counting, and reading. Attention is expressed in the precise execution of related actions. The images obtained through careful perception are distinguished by clarity and distinctness. With attention, thought processes proceed faster and more correctly, movements are performed more accurately and clearly.

The contradiction between the need to develop the attention of younger schoolchildren and the lack of appropriate educational and methodological developments led to the problems of our research: how to develop the attention of children?

Purpose of the study: to develop and experimentally test methods, methods, and means of developing the attention of primary schoolchildren.

Object of study: attention of younger schoolchildren.

Subject of research: development of attention of younger schoolchildren.

Research hypothesis: the attention of younger schoolchildren during classes will be developed if appropriate games and exercises are used.

Research objectives:

1. Conduct an essential analysis of the concept of “attention of younger schoolchildren.”

2. Identify and justify the principles of conducting correctional and developmental work to develop the attention of younger schoolchildren.

3. Conduct experimental studies on the formation of voluntary attention in children of primary school age.

Research methods:

1) organizational: comparative, longitudinal, complex.

2) empirical: observational (observation, introspection), experiment (laboratory, field, natural), psychophysiological, analysis of products and processes of activity (praximetric methods), modeling, biographical method.

3) interpretive: genetic, structural.

Chapter 1. Essential analysis of the concept of “attention”

Attention is always concentration on something. In the selection of one object from the mass of others, the so-called selectivity of attention is manifested: interest in one is a simultaneous inattention to another. Attention in itself is not a special cognitive process. It is inherent in any cognitive process (perception, thinking, memory) and acts as the ability to organize this process.

Attention is one of the phenomena of orientation-research activity. It is a mental action aimed at the content of an image, thought or other phenomenon. Attention plays a significant role in the regulation of intellectual activity. According to P.Ya. Halperin, “attention nowhere appears as an independent process; it is revealed as the direction, mood and concentration of any mental activity on its object, only as a side or property of this activity.”

Attention does not have its own separate and specific product. Its result is the improvement of any activity that it accompanies.

Attention is a mental state that characterizes the intensity of cognitive activity and is expressed in its concentration on a relatively narrow area (actions, object, phenomenon).

The following forms of attention are distinguished:

Sensory (perceptual);

Intellectual (mental);

Motor (motor).

The main functions of attention are:

Activation of necessary and inhibition of currently unnecessary mental and physiological processes;

Purposeful, organized selection of incoming information (the main selective function of attention);

Retention, preservation of images of a certain subject content until the goal is achieved;

Ensuring long-term concentration and activity on the same object;

Regulation and control of activities.

Attention is associated with a person’s interests, inclinations, and vocation; personality traits such as observation and the ability to notice subtle but significant signs in objects and phenomena also depend on his characteristics.

Attention consists in the fact that a certain idea or sensation takes a dominant place in consciousness, displacing others. This greater degree of cognition of a given impression is the basic fact, or effects, namely:

Analytical effect of attention - this representation becomes more detailed, in it we notice more details;

Fixing effect - the idea becomes more stable in consciousness and does not disappear so easily;

Reinforcing effect - the impression, at least in most cases, is made stronger: thanks to the inclusion of attention, a weak sound seems somewhat louder.

A child’s attention at the beginning of school age reflects his interest in surrounding objects and the actions performed with them. The child is focused until interest wanes. The appearance of a new object immediately causes a shift of attention to it. Therefore, children rarely do the same thing for a long time.

During primary school age, due to the complication of children’s activities and their progress in general mental development, attention becomes more focused and stable. So, if preschoolers can play the same game for 30-40 minutes, then by the age of seven or eight years the duration of the game increases to two hours. This is explained by the fact that the game reflects more complex actions and relationships between people and interest in it is maintained by the constant introduction of new situations. The stability of children's attention also increases when looking at pictures, listening to stories and fairy tales. The main change in attention at school age is that children for the first time begin to control their attention, consciously direct it to certain objects and phenomena, and stay on them, using certain means for this. The origins of voluntary attention lie outside the child’s personality. This means that the development of involuntary attention itself does not lead to the emergence of voluntary attention. The latter is formed due to the fact that adults include the child in new types of activities and, using certain means, direct and organize his attention. By directing the child’s attention, adults give him the same means with which he subsequently begins to manage his attention.

In one experiment, a game of questions and answers was played with children, similar to the game of forfeits with prohibitions: “Don’t say “Yes” and “No,” don’t take white and black.” During the game, the child was asked a number of questions. The child had to answer as best as possible faster and still follow the instructions:

do not name prohibited colors, such as black and white;

do not name the same color twice.

The experiment was structured in such a way that the child could fulfill all the conditions of the game, but this required constant attention from him.

A different result was obtained when an adult offered the child a set of colored cards to help, which became external aids for successfully focusing attention on the conditions of the game. The most perceptive children began to use these aids on their own. They identified the forbidden colors, white and black, put the corresponding cards aside, and during the game they used the cards that lay in front of them. In addition to situational ones that organize attention in connection with a specific particular task, there is a universal means of organizing attention - speech. Initially, adults organize the child's attention using verbal instructions. He is reminded of the need to perform a given action, taking into account other circumstances. Later, the child himself begins to verbally designate those objects and phenomena that need to be paid attention to in order to achieve the desired result.

As the planning function of speech develops, the child gains the ability to organize his attention in advance on the upcoming activity and verbally formulate what he should focus on.

The importance of verbal instructions for organizing attention is clearly seen from the following example. First-graders were asked, from ten cards with images of animals, to select those that had at least one of the specified images (for example, a chicken or a horse), but under no circumstances take cards that had a forbidden image (for example, a bear). The child selected the cards several times in a row. Initially he was not given any instructions as to the method of action. Under these conditions, he had difficulty completing the task and often got confused. However, the situation changed when the child was asked to repeat the instructions out loud (after carefully examining the images on the cards, he remembered which cards he could take and which ones he could not). Observations have shown that after speaking the instructions, almost all children give correct solutions, even if new animals are introduced into subsequent tasks. Children actively used speech to organize their attention during the process of selecting cards.

During primary school age, the use of speech to organize one's own attention increases sharply. This is manifested in particular in the fact that, when performing tasks according to the teacher’s instructions, primary schoolchildren pronounce the instructions ten to twelve times more often than preschoolers. Thus, voluntary attention is formed at primary school age with a general increase in the role of speech in regulating the child’s behavior.

1.1 Types of attention

It is difficult for children to concentrate on monotonous and unattractive activities, while in the process of playing or solving an emotional problem they can remain attentive for a long time. This feature of attention is one of the reasons why learning cannot be based on tasks that require constant tension of voluntary attention. The elements of play, productive activities, and frequent changes in forms of activity used in classes make it possible to maintain children’s attention at a fairly high level.

It should be noted that, starting from the first grade, children become able to maintain attention on actions that acquire intellectually significant interest for them.

By the end of primary school age, children's ability to voluntary attention begins to develop intensively. In the future, voluntary attention becomes an indispensable condition for organizing educational activities at school.

Attention has lower and higher forms. The former are represented by involuntary attention, the latter by voluntary attention (Table 1).

Attention can be passive (involuntary) or active (voluntary). These types of attention differ from each other only in their complexity.

There are times when attention is involuntarily directed to something, i.e. one gets the impression that we do not pay attention to objects or phenomena, but they “take our consciousness by storm” due to their intensity.

Table1 Attention

Type of attention	Occurrence condition	Main characteristics	Mechanism
Involuntary	The action of a strong, contrasting or significant stimulus that evokes an emotional response	Involuntariness, ease of occurrence and switching	An indicative reflex or dominant characterizing a more or less stable interest of an individual
free	Statement (acceptance) of the problem	Focus according to the task. Requires strong will and tires	The leading role of the second signaling system (words, speech)
Post-voluntary	Entry into activities and the interest arising in connection with this	Maintains focus and relieves stress	Dominant characterizing the interest that arose in the process of this activity

Factors determining involuntary attention:

Stimulus intensity;

Stimulus quality;

Repetition;

The suddenness of the appearance of an object;

Object movement;

Novelty of the object;

Agreement with the present content of consciousness.

The arbitrariness of attention develops along with the formation of its individual properties. There is also a third stage in the formation of attention - it consists of returning to involuntary attention. This type of attention is called “post-voluntary”. The concept of post-voluntary attention was introduced by N.F. Dobrynin. Post-voluntary attention arises on the basis of voluntary attention and consists of focusing on an object due to its value (significance, interest) for the individual.

Thus, three stages of attention development can be distinguished:

Primary attention caused by a variety of stimuli that produce a strong effect on the nervous system;

Secondary attention - focusing on one object, despite the presence of others (differentiation);

Post-voluntary attention, when an object is held in attention without special effort.

Involuntary attention

Involuntary (unintentional) is attention that is caused by certain features of currently existing objects without the intention of being attentive to them. The occurrence of involuntary attention is determined by physical, psychophysiological and mental factors and is associated with the general orientation of the individual. It occurs without volitional effort.

Causes of involuntary attention:

Objective features of objects and phenomena (their intensity, novelty, dynamism, contrast);

Structural organization (united objects are perceived more easily than randomly scattered ones);

The intensity of an object - a stronger sound, a brighter poster, etc. - is more likely to attract attention;

Novelty, unusualness of objects;

Abrupt change of objects;

Subjective factors in which a person’s selective attitude towards the environment is manifested;

The relationship of the stimulus to the needs (what meets the needs attracts attention, first of all).

The main function of involuntary attention is to quickly and correctly orient a person in constantly changing conditions, highlighting those objects that can have the greatest life meaning at the moment.

Depending on internal conditions, three types of involuntary attention are distinguished.

The determinants of forced attention presumably lie in the species experience of the organism. Since learning this form of attention plays a minor role, it is called innate, natural or instinctive. External and internal activities are reduced to a minimum or become automatic.

The second type of involuntary attention depends not so much on the specific, but on the individual experience of the subject. It also develops on an instinctive basis, but in a delayed manner, in the process of spontaneous learning and adaptation of a person to certain living conditions. To the extent that these processes and conditions coincide or do not coincide among representatives of different age and social groups, general and individual zones of objects of attention and inattention are formed. Such attention can be called involuntary. The coercive nature and emotional impact of the impressions, thoughts, and ideas that cause it are relatively small. In contrast to the stimulus of forced attention, objects of involuntary attention penetrate into the area of ​​consciousness during moments of relative inaction, periods of rest and actualization of needs. Under these conditions, attention is attracted to nearby objects, voices, etc.

The third type of involuntary attention can be called habitual attention. Some authors consider it a consequence or a special case of voluntary attention, while others consider it a transitional form to it. On the part of the subject, this form of attention is determined by attitudes, the intention to perform this or that activity.

Forced, involuntary, habitual attention as varieties of involuntary attention are united by the fact that their motivating reasons lie outside the human consciousness.

Unintentional attention is characterized by the following features:

A person does not prepare in advance for the perception of an object or action;

The intensity of unintentional attention is determined by the characteristics of the stimuli;

Short in time (attention lasts as long as the corresponding stimuli act, and, if it is not consolidated, stops when their effect ends). These features of unintentional attention make it unable to ensure the good quality of a particular activity.

Voluntary attention

The source of voluntary (intentional) attention is entirely determined by subjective factors. Voluntary attention serves to achieve the goal set and accepted for execution. Depending on the nature of these conditions and on the system of activity in which acts of voluntary attention are included, the following varieties are distinguished.

1. The processes of intentionally paying attention can proceed easily and without interference. Such attention is called properly voluntary in order to distinguish it from the cases of habitual attention discussed earlier. The need for volitional attention arises in a situation of conflict between the chosen object or direction of activity and the objects or tendencies of involuntary attention. The feeling of tension is a characteristic of this type of attention process. Volitional attention can be defined as reluctant if the source of the conflict lies in the motivational sphere. The struggle with oneself is the essence of any processes of volitional attention.

2. The volitional nature of expectant attention is especially evident in situations of solving so-called vigilance tasks.

3. A particularly important option for the development of voluntary attention is the transformation of volitional attention into spontaneous attention. The function of involuntary attention is to create spontaneous attention. If you fail, only fatigue and disgust appear. Spontaneous attention has the qualities of both voluntary and involuntary attention. It is related to voluntary attention by activity, purposefulness, subordination to the intention to listen to a chosen object or type of activity. The common point with involuntary attention is the lack of effort, automaticity and emotional accompaniment.

The main function of voluntary attention is the active regulation of mental processes. Currently, voluntary attention is understood as an activity aimed at controlling behavior and maintaining stable selective activity.

Characteristics of voluntary (intentional) attention:

Purposefulness is determined by the tasks that a person sets for himself in a particular activity;

The organized nature of the activity - a person prepares to be attentive to this or that object, consciously directs his attention to it, organizes the mental processes necessary for this activity;

Sustainability - attention continues for a more or less long time and depends on the tasks or work plan in which we express our intention.

Reasons for voluntary attention:

The interests of a person that motivate him to engage in this type of activity;

Awareness of duty and responsibilities that require performing this type of activity as best as possible.

Post-voluntary attention

Post-voluntary attention is an active, purposeful concentration of consciousness that does not require volitional efforts due to high interest in the activity. According to K.K. Platonov, post-voluntary attention is the highest form of voluntary attention. Work absorbs a person so much that breaks in it begin to irritate him, since he has to be drawn into the process again, to get used to it. Post-voluntary attention occurs in situations where the goal of the activity is preserved, but the need for volitional effort disappears.

1.2 Properties of attention

Attention is characterized by various qualities or properties. Attention has a complex functional structure formed by the interrelations of its basic properties.

Properties of attention are divided into primary and secondary. The primary ones include volume, stability, intensity, concentration, distribution of attention, and the secondary ones include fluctuations and switching of attention.

Attention span

The scope of attention is the number of objects (or their elements) perceived simultaneously with sufficient clarity and distinctness. The more objects or their elements are perceived simultaneously, the greater the volume of attention and the more effective the activity will be.

To measure attention span, special techniques and tests are used. As we age, our attention span expands. The attention span of an adult is from four to seven objects at a time. However, the amount of attention is an individually changing value, and the classic indicator of the amount of attention in children is the number 3+-2.

For a child of primary school age, each letter is a separate object. The attention span of a child who begins to read is very small, but as he masters reading techniques and gains experience, the amount of attention required for fluent reading also increases. To increase your attention span, special exercises are needed. The main condition for expanding the scope of attention is the presence of skills and abilities of systematization, unification by meaning, grouping of perceived material.

Sustainability of attention

Sustainability of attention - its temporary characteristic - is the duration of maintaining attention to the same object or activity. Stability is maintained in practical activities with objects and in active mental activity. Sustained attention is maintained in work that produces positive results, especially after overcoming difficulties, which causes positive emotions and a feeling of satisfaction.

An indicator of stability of attention is high productivity of activity over a relatively long period of time. Sustainability of attention is characterized by its duration and degree of concentration.

Experimental studies have shown that attention is subject to voluntary periodic fluctuations. The periods of such oscillations are usually two to three seconds and reach 12 seconds.

If attention is unstable, the quality of work decreases sharply. The following factors influence the stability of attention:

Complication of the object (complex objects cause complex active mental activity, which is associated with the duration of concentration);

Personal activity;

Emotional state (under the influence of strong stimuli, attention may be distracted by foreign objects);

Attitude to activity;

Pace of activity (for stability of attention, it is important to ensure an optimal pace of work: if the pace is too low or too high, nervous processes radiate (involve unnecessary areas of the cerebral cortex), making it difficult to concentrate and switch attention.

Stability is closely related to the dynamic characteristics of attention, for example, with its fluctuations (punctuation). The dynamics of attention are manifested in shifts in stability over a long period of work, which is divided into the following stages of concentration:

Initial entry into work;

Achieving concentration of attention, then its micro-oscillations, overcome through volitional efforts;

Decreased concentration and performance as fatigue increases.

Attention intensity

The intensity of attention is characterized by a relatively large expenditure of nervous energy when performing this type of activity. Attention in a particular activity can manifest itself with different intensity. During any work, moments of very intense attention alternate with moments of weakened attention. Thus, in a state of fatigue, a person is not capable of intense attention and cannot concentrate, which is accompanied by an increase in inhibitory processes in the cerebral cortex and the appearance of drowsiness as a special act of protective inhibition. Physiologically, the intensity of attention is due to an increased degree of excitatory processes in certain areas of the cerebral cortex with simultaneous inhibition of other areas.

Concentration of attention

Concentration is the degree of concentration. Focused is attention that is directed to one object or type of activity and does not extend to others. Concentration (focus) of attention on some objects implies simultaneous distraction from everything extraneous. Concentration is a necessary condition for comprehending and imprinting information entering the brain, and the reflection becomes clearer and more distinct.

Focused attention is of high intensity, which is necessary for performing important activities. The physiological basis of concentrated attention is the optimal intensity of excitatory processes in those parts of the cerebral cortex that are associated with this type of activity while simultaneously developing strong inhibitory processes in other parts of the cortex.

Focused attention is characterized by clearly expressed external signs: appropriate posture, facial expressions, expressive lively gaze, quick reaction, inhibition of all unnecessary movements. At the same time, external signs do not always correspond to the actual state of attention. So, for example, silence in the classroom can indicate both passion for the subject and complete indifference to what is happening.

Distribution of attention

Distribution of attention is a person’s ability to keep a certain number of objects in the center of attention at the same time, i.e. This is the simultaneous attention to two or more objects while simultaneously performing actions with them or observing them. Divided attention is a necessary condition for the successful performance of many activities that require the simultaneous performance of disparate operations.

Distribution of attention is a property of attention that is associated with the possibility of simultaneously successfully performing (combining) two or more different types of activities (or several actions). When considering the distribution of attention, it is necessary to consider that:

The difficulty is combining two or more types of mental activity;

It is easier to combine motor and mental activities;

To successfully perform two types of activities simultaneously, one type of activity must be brought to automaticity.

Distribution of attention is of particular importance during study. The child must simultaneously listen to the adult and write down, retrieve, open, remember, manipulate objects, etc. But only if both types of activities, or at least one, are sufficiently mastered and do not require concentration, such a combination will be successful.

The younger student does not distribute attention well; he does not yet have experience. Therefore, you should not force your child to do two things at the same time or, while doing one, distract him from the other. But gradually it is necessary to accustom him to the distribution of attention, to place him in such conditions where it is necessary.

The ability for concentrated or, conversely, distributed attention is formed in the process of practical activity through exercise and accumulation of relevant skills.

Switching attention

Switching attention is a conscious and meaningful movement of attention from one object to another or from one activity to another in connection with the formulation of a new task. In general, switching attention means the ability to quickly navigate a complex situation. Switching attention is always accompanied by some nervous tension, which is expressed in volitional effort. Switching attention is manifested in the subject's deliberate transition from one type of activity to another, from one object to another, from one action to another.

Possible reasons for switching attention: demands of the activity being performed, inclusion in a new activity, fatigue.

Switching can be complete (completed) or incomplete (incomplete) - in the case when a person has moved on to another activity, but has not yet been completely distracted from the first. The ease and success of switching attention depends on:

From the relationship between antecedent and subsequent activities;

From the completion of the previous activity, or its incompleteness;

From the subject’s attitude to a particular activity (the more interesting it is, the easier it is to switch, and vice versa);

From the individual characteristics of the subject (type of nervous system, individual experience, etc.);

On the significance of the goal of the activity for a person, its clarity, clarity.

Along with the switching of attention, attention is distracted - an involuntary movement of attention from the main activity to objects that are not important for its successful implementation. It is difficult for a child to start a new job, especially if it does not evoke positive emotions, so it is not recommended to frequently change its content and types unless absolutely necessary. However, when tired and monotonous activities occur, such switching is useful and necessary.

Switching attention is one of the trainable qualities.

Attention fluctuations

Fluctuations of attention are expressed in the periodic change of objects to which it is drawn. Fluctuations in attention differ from changes in its stability. Changes in stability are characterized by periodic increases and decreases in the intensity of attention. Fluctuations can occur even with the most concentrated and sustained attention. The periodicity of fluctuations in attention is clearly manifested in experiments with dual images.

A classic example is a double square, which simultaneously represents two figures: 1) a truncated pyramid, its apex facing the viewer; and 2) a long corridor with an exit at the end (Fig. 1). If we look at this drawing even with intense attention, then at certain intervals we will see either a truncated pyramid or a long corridor. This change of objects is an example of fluctuations in attention

Fig.1. Double square

Fluctuations in attention are explained by the fact that the activity of certain nerve centers cannot continue intensively without interruption. During hard work, the corresponding nerve cells are quickly depleted and need to be restored. Their protective inhibition occurs, as a result of which in those centers that were previously inhibited, the intensity increases and attention switches to extraneous stimuli.

Attention is selective. Thanks to this, the activity has a certain direction. Externally, attention is expressed in movements, with the help of which we adapt to performing actions. At the same time, unnecessary movements that interfere with this activity are inhibited. So, for example, if we need to carefully examine an object, we listen carefully to something, then we tilt our heads to hear better. This adaptive movement facilitates perception.

Direction, or selectivity, of attention manifests itself in various forms. Initially, the choice of objects of attention is associated with the analysis of a huge flow of information continuously coming from the outside world. Selectivity of attention manifests itself in vigilance, alertness, and anxious anticipation (involuntary selectivity). The conscious selection of some objects occurs in purposeful cognitive activity. In some cases, selectivity of attention may be in the nature of search, selection, control associated with a specific program (voluntary selectivity). In other cases (for example, reading a book, listening to music, etc.) a clear program is not necessary.

Development of attention in primary school age

Attention is understood as the direction and concentration of mental activity on a specific object while being distracted from others. Thus, this mental process is a condition for the successful implementation of any activity, both external and internal, and its product is its high-quality implementation. In its elementary form, attention acts as an orienting reflex “what is this?”, performing a biological protective function. Thus, a person identifies a stimulus and determines its positive or negative value.

Attention also has internal manifestations. The first includes a tense posture, a concentrated gaze, the second includes changes in the body, for example, increased heart rate, breathing, the release of adrenaline in the blood, etc.

Traditional types of attention are divided by the presence of a goal to be attentive and the use of volitional efforts to maintain it. This classification includes involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention. The involuntary is caused by the characteristics of the stimulus, activity with the object, and is associated with the interests, needs, and inclinations of the person. Voluntary attention presupposes a consciously set goal “to be attentive” and the use of volitional efforts to maintain it, for example, a child resists distractions while continuing to prepare his homework. Post-voluntary attention is observed when the goal of an activity moves from the result to the process of execution, and the need for volitional efforts to maintain attention disappears.

The level of development of attention is indicated by the formation of its properties: concentration, stability, distribution and switching. Concentration is determined by how deep a person is in his work. An indicator of stability is the time of concentration on an object and the number of distractions from it. Switching is manifested in the transition from one object or activity to another. Distribution occurs when a person performs several actions simultaneously, for example, reciting a poem while moving around the room.

Functions and types of attention.

Attention in human life and activity performs many different functions. It activates the necessary and inhibits currently unnecessary psychological and physiological processes, promotes the organized and targeted selection of information entering the body in accordance with its current needs, and ensures selective and long-term concentration on one object or type of activity.

Attention is associated with the direction and selectivity of cognitive processes. Attention is determined by the accuracy and detail of perception, the strength and selectivity of memory, the direction and productivity of mental activity.

Let's consider the main types of attention. These are natural and social conditioned attention, direct attention, involuntary and voluntary attention, sensory and intellectual attention.

Natural attention is given to a person from his very birth in the form of an innate ability to selectively respond to certain external or internal stimuli that carry elements of information novelty.

Socially conditioned attention develops during life as a result of training and upbringing.

Direct attention does not control anything other than the object to which it is directed and which corresponds to the actual interests and needs of a person.

Indirect attention is regulated using special means, such as gestures, words, etc.

Involuntary attention is not associated with the participation of the will, but voluntary attention necessarily includes volitional regulation. Involuntary attention does not require effort to maintain and focus attention on something for a certain time, and voluntary attention has all these qualities.

Finally, we can distinguish between sensory and intellectual attention. The first is primarily associated with emotions, and the second with concentration and direction of thought.

Attention of children during classes.

Attention is an important aspect of cognitive activity. A primary school teacher needs to know the features of its formation. “Attention,” wrote K.D. Ushinsky, “is that door that not a single word of teaching can pass, otherwise it will not enter the child’s soul” / “Selected Pedagogical Works” p. 348/.

Involuntary attention is usually associated with the sudden appearance of an object, a change in its movements, or the demonstration of a bright, contrasting object. Auditory, involuntary attention occurs when suddenly heard sounds; it is supported by the teacher’s expressive speech: a change in the intonation of the strength of the voice.

Voluntary attention is characterized by purposefulness.

However, in the learning process it is impossible to make everything so interesting that no effort of will is required to master the knowledge. Voluntary attention differs from involuntary attention in that it requires significant effort from the child. However, these willpower efforts may diminish or even disappear completely. This is observed in cases where, during classes, interest in the work itself appears. Voluntary attention turns into post-voluntary attention. The presence of post-voluntary attention indicates that the activity has captured the child and significant volitional efforts are no longer required to maintain it. This is a qualitatively new type of attention. It differs from involuntary in that it presupposes conscious assimilation.

The importance of post-voluntary attention is important for the pedagogical process, since maintaining attention for a long time with the help of volitional efforts is tiring.

Features of attention include focus (or concentration) and stability.

Teachers know that getting a child's attention is not difficult. But maintaining it is not easy. To do this, you need to use special techniques.

Forming attention has always been an important part of the learning process. Children's attention acquires certain qualities depending on the activity in which it is manifested and formed, depending on how this activity is directed.

The organizational aspect of the lesson is very important. If it passes calmly and quickly, everything necessary is prepared in advance and the teacher has time to pay special attention to those whose transition from play to “working state” is slow, then, as a rule, children quickly concentrate. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the organizational moment drags on for up to four minutes or more.

According to our observations, the duration of the organizational moment should not exceed a minute.

The inclusion of children in work is facilitated, first of all, by the method of revealing the purpose of the lesson and its content. It is important that what is communicated in class arouses keen interest and curiosity in children and attracts their attention to the teacher’s words.

The mood for the lesson is also created with the help of riddles, an invitation to remember proverbs and sayings. This activates children's thinking, develops their speech and intelligence.

Children's attention must be maintained during subsequent stages of the lesson. Explanation, according to A.P. Mustache should not last more than 5 minutes, otherwise attention will weaken. During a visual arts lesson, the teacher spent 8 minutes explaining. As a result, some children became distracted and were unable to immediately begin work, and the long wait for the activity to begin led to a weakening of attention.

What methodological techniques used by the teacher help maintain active attention?

The explanation of the task should be laconic, aiming children at the main thing. Children do it independently or with the help of a teacher. In this case, you can use the method of step-by-step instructions developed by A.P. Usova. At the first lesson, the teacher explained and showed how to draw a human figure. On the second, she invited the child to draw a figure of a skier on the board. The third lesson was on the topic “Skiers in the forest”, where the children did the work independently. The step-by-step explanation served as a support for maintaining attention during the task.

Teachers often use demonstration, explanation, and example. In such classes, children seem to listen carefully. But when the teacher asks to repeat, not everyone can answer.

During the explanation and during the lesson, a certain emotional release and a change in techniques are necessary. The teacher gives interesting examples using illustrations, asks questions in a somewhat unusual form, and reminds individual children that he will ask them.

The combination of the teacher's words with the use of visuals is widely used in teaching practice. The forms of this combination are different: use a sample or instead a picture, a drawing, and not only at the beginning of the explanations, but also in the middle and end.

But now the children began to complete the task. How to keep their attention at this stage of the lesson?

Let us analyze the characteristics of children’s behavior depending on the type of activity and the duration of the task. The analysis showed that children behave well during classes in their native language for 15-20 minutes. At this time, the number of distracted people is small. In the future it increases.

In drawing classes, attention is maintained for 25 minutes.

What methodological techniques are used by the teacher at this stage of the lesson?

It is especially important to guide children’s activities during lessons in their native language. By skillfully asking questions, emphasizing what to pay attention to, how you can say in another way, what is interesting in a friend’s answer, the teacher thereby activates the children. The teacher's inability to organize the work of all children will certainly lead to a weakening of their attention.

To create stable attention and maintain it, educators complicate tasks, setting children a mental task at each lesson.

It is difficult to maintain attention when conducting a lesson in a monotonous manner. K.D. Ushinsky said that any monotonous activity that lasts too long has a detrimental effect on a child.

The nature of the questions asked by the teacher is also important. To questions that are incomprehensible to children or that are too general in nature, such as: “What was the old woman like? What is winter like? Etc.” - the child cannot answer correctly. He has to guess what the teacher wants to ask. The child's dissatisfaction with his answers can weaken his attention.

By the end of the lesson, fatigue increases.

For some, this manifests itself in increased excitability, while others experience lethargy and passive anticipation of the end of the lesson. In both cases, children’s attention decreases.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher usually sums up the activity, so it is advisable to use different forms of selection and evaluation of work, answers: analysis of work by the teacher, selection and evaluation of the best works, 3-4 minutes is enough for this.

1.3 Attention disorders

There are so-called negative aspects of the attention process or attention disorders - distractibility, absent-mindedness, excessive mobility and inertia.

Attention disorders are understood as pathological changes in the direction and selectivity of mental activity, expressed in a state of fatigue or organic brain damage, in a narrowing of the object of attention, when a person can perceive only a small number of objects at the same time, in instability of attention, when the concentration of attention is impaired and attention is distracted by side irritants.

The causes of the violation can be external and internal. External causes can be considered various negative influences (stressors, frustrators) and the child’s negative relationships with people around him. The actions of internal causes can be represented as the influence of a disturbed part of the psyche on a healthy one.

Attention disorders include:

Inability to maintain attention: the child cannot complete the task to the end, is not collected when completing it;

Decreased selective attention, inability to concentrate on a subject;

Increased distractibility: when completing tasks, children fuss and often switch from one activity to another;

Reduced attention in unusual situations when you need to act independently.

Types of attention disorders: distractibility, absent-mindedness, hypermobility, inertia, narrowing of attention span, instability of attention (if concentration is impaired).

Distractibility.

Distractibility (distraction of attention) is an involuntary movement of attention from one object to another. It occurs when extraneous stimuli act on a person who is engaged in some activity at that moment.

Distractibility can be external or internal. External distractibility occurs under the influence of stimuli, while voluntary attention becomes involuntary. Internal distractibility occurs under the influence of experiences, extraneous emotions, due to lack of interest and hyper-responsibility. Internal distractibility is explained by extreme inhibition that develops under the influence of boring, monotonous work.

Possible causes of distraction in a child:

Insufficient formation of volitional qualities;

The habit of being inattentive (habitual inattention is associated with a lack of serious interests, a superficial attitude towards objects and phenomena);

Increased fatigue;

Bad feeling;

Presence of psychotrauma;

Monotonous, uninteresting activity;

Inappropriate type of activity;

The presence of intense extraneous irritants;

To organize the child’s attention, it is necessary to include him in the action, to awaken intellectual interest in the content and results of the activity.

Distraction of attention

Distraction is the inability to concentrate on anything specific for a long time. The term "absent-mindedness" means superficial, "sliding" attention. Absent-mindedness can manifest itself:

a) inability to concentrate;

b) in excessive concentration on one object of activity.

There are two types of absent-mindedness: imaginary and genuine. Imaginary absent-mindedness is a person’s inattention to surrounding objects and phenomena, caused by concentration on one particular object (phenomenon) or experience.

The mechanism of absent-mindedness is the presence of a powerful dominant - a focus of imagination in the cerebral cortex, suppressing all other signals coming from the outside. There are scientific absent-mindedness and senile absent-mindedness.

The so-called scientific absent-mindedness is a manifestation of a very high concentration of attention combined with its limited volume. In a state of professorial absent-mindedness, the train of thought is logically ordered and strictly aimed at achieving an ideal and distant goal or finding a solution to a complex problem. Examples of “professorial” absent-mindedness are usually found in the biographies of great philosophers, inventors and scientists.

Attention disorders, called senile absent-mindedness, include poor switching ability combined with insufficient concentration. A person’s attention seems to “stick” to one subject, activity or reflection, but at the same time, unlike “professorial” absent-mindedness, such concentration is ineffective.

A similar phenomenon of absent-mindedness is observed in states of depression and anxiety, when a person’s thinking is long and continuously occupied with repetitive and fruitless thoughts and images.

Absent-mindedness is often referred to as mild exhaustion of attention as a consequence of illness or overwork. In sick and weakened children, this type of absent-mindedness often occurs. Such children may work well at the beginning of a lesson or school day, but soon become tired and their attention wanes. Today there is a tendency to increase the number of children with various health conditions and chronic diseases, and, as a result, attention disorders.

Superficial and unstable attention is found among schoolchildren - dreamers and visionaries. Such children often switch out of the lesson, being carried away into an illusory world. V.P. Kashchenko points to another reason for absent-mindedness - experiencing fears, which prevents you from concentrating on the desired task. Nervous, hyperactive and sick children are distracted 1.5-2 times more often than calm and healthy ones.

In each case, it is necessary to understand the causes of violations and the severity of an individual plan for correcting absent-mindedness, taking them into account.

There are many reasons for truly absent-minded attention. The most common are the following:

General weakening of the nervous system (neurasthenia);

Deterioration of health;

Physical and mental fatigue;

The presence of severe experiences, traumas;

Emotional overload due to a large number of impressions (positive and negative);

Disadvantages of upbringing (for example, in conditions of overprotection, a child who receives too many verbal instructions, a large amount of information, gets used to a constant change of impressions, and his attention becomes superficial, observation and concentration are not formed);

Violations of the work and rest regime;

Breathing disorders (the cause of impaired breathing may be adenoids, chronic tonsillitis, etc.. A child who breathes through his mouth breathes shallowly, superficially, his brain is not enriched with oxygen, which negatively affects performance, low performance interferes with concentrating his attention on objects and causes absent-mindedness);

Excessive mobility;

Excessive mobility of attention is a constant transition from one object to another, from one activity to another with low efficiency.

Inertia of attention.

Inertia of attention is a low mobility of attention, its pathological fixation on a limited range of ideas and thoughts.

Inattention is very common in childhood. Inattention requires correction if the following signs appear in a child for six months or more:

Inability to concentrate on details, careless mistakes;

Inability to maintain attention and listen to speech addressed to him;

Frequent distraction by extraneous stimuli;

Helplessness in completing a task;

Negative attitude towards tasks that require stress, forgetfulness (the child is not able to retain the instructions for a task in memory throughout its completion)

Loss of items needed to complete a task.

Chapter 2. Experimental study of the development of attention in younger schoolchildren

2.1 Principles of carrying out correctional and developmental work and drawing up correctional and developmental programs

The principles of constructing correctional programs determine the strategy and tactics of their development, i.e. determine the goals, objectives of correction, methods and means of psychological influence.

When drawing up various types of correctional programs, it is necessary to rely on the principles:

Systematicity of correctional, preventive and developmental tasks;

Unity of diagnosis and correction;

Priority of correction of the causal type;

Activity principle of correction;

Taking into account the age-psychological and individual characteristics of the child;

Complexity of methods of psychological influence;

Actively attracting the social environment to participate in the correctional program;

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