It would be absolutely impossible for a productive and purposeful course of mental processes without focusing on the perceived object or phenomenon.A person can look at an object near him, and did not notice or take it badly.Remember, when you are busy with their own thoughts, deeply immersed in introspection, do not understand the essence of conversations ongoing close, though the sounds of words comes to your hearing instrument.
There are times that a person can not feel pain, if his attention is fixed on something else.Characteristics of attention in psychology occupy a significant area for research, because thanks to this cognitive process provides productive work of others.What is the essence of psychic phenomena?
definition
scientists, psychologists define attention as a mental process, characterize the direction and concentration of human consciousness on any phenomenon, object or activity.What is meant by the way?This is the choice of the subject among many other items.Focus refers to the possibility of a person not to be distracted from the selected object to another, not related.That is the focus.
Features attention helps the person to successfully navigate in the environment and provide a more complete and accurate reflection in her psychic reality.The subject on which directed the human mind occupies a central place in the consciousness, and all the other person perceives vaguely and weakly.But the main characteristics of attention indicate that a person can be switched, and a central place in the consciousness will take different things.
Attention - this non-self-cognitive process, because we can not watch out other mental phenomena.Man can with care and attentively listen, to think, to do, to watch.In this regard, note - it is only a property that belongs to other cognitive processes.
pose physiological process
Warning ensure the functioning of the centers of the nervous system that are involved in cognitive processes which accompanies the account.Specialized nerve center responsible for carrying out this process, is absent, but the appearance of visual, tactile and other sensations provides the activity of certain parts of the cerebral cortex.
studying higher nervous activity, the researchers found that nerve structures located in different areas of the brain, can not have the same level of excitation or inhibition.Cognitive processes are expressed in the cortex and activity is in some parts of varying intensity.
optimal anxiety according to Pavlov
Psychological characteristic of attention has been made both scientists and psychologists, and scientists-physiologists.Pavlov argued that if we could see through the human skull and areas with optimal excitability of the brain light, we have seen used, how fast it is moving point of light on the cerebral hemispheres, while performing various polygonal shapes.
Physiology at attention understands nervous activity of some part of the brain, which currently has an optimal excitability, while other areas have a lower excitability.
General characteristics of attention, according to Pavlov, is that in the field of optimal excitability easy to install new conditioned reflexes and successfully formed a new differentiation.Sharpness and clarity of cognitive processes can be explained by just this feature.
bark in areas where optimal manifested anxiety becomes a creative place in the brain.These sites are constantly changing due to the movement of optimal excitability due to stimuli of different nature obtained in the course of business.Also, there is a change and constant movement of the areas with a low level of excitability.
Places cortex, which have high and low excitability, have a connection in the form of the law of negative induction, characteristic of this mental process, as attention.Features attention are caused by the action of the physiological law that says the following: strong stimulation of some areas of the cerebral cortex is due to the induction of inhibitory processes, the completion of the process at all nervous, so in some places there is an optimal excitability, and in others - lethargy.
dominant principle Ukhtomskii
Besides research Pavlov, explaining the physiological mechanisms involved in attention Ukhtomskii.This scientist theorized the dominant principle.According to this doctrine, at some point in the cerebral cortex occurs a lot, characterized by high levels of excitability, which dominates the other sites, inhibiting their activity.Excitability may also amplifies by going pulses otherwise.
Rhythm faint sound can cause orienting reflex in normal circumstances, but in the event of dominants related to reading the book, the sound will increase attention or rather its concentration.But if jitters, located in dominant center, reaches its maximum rate, the pulses otherwise do not lead to concentration, but to parabiotic braking.
Properties attention and their characteristics
This mental process has certain features that have different expression in different people.So, the main characteristics of attention are the following properties:
- concentration of attention or concentration.Human consciousness will select the object and sends it to the attention.
- stability.This feature helps the person to resist distractions, so long a person can focus on a specific object or action.The amount of attention characterized by the number of items that a person can take in one and the same time.
- distribution.This property is responsible for the ability to monitor several objects or perform several actions in different directions at the same time.
- Switching - psychological characteristic of attention, the essence of which is to move the focus from one object to another, new one.
- Distraction and attention.In the first case of human consciousness is not directed at any object and is scattered.And care, on the contrary.
The characteristics of the attention is all of the above properties.Now let us consider in more detail the last two features.Let's get started.
What distraction?
Distraction - this is not a general characteristic of attention, but rather concrete.Scientists identify two basic kinds of properties.The first arises as a product of the instability of the mental process.This characteristic of attention and memory typical of children of primary school age, but can also occur in adults.The reasons for this phenomenon may be a weakness of the nervous system, fatigue and lack of sleep high.If a person does not have the habit to focus their attention on the work, the first kind of distraction can occur in this case.
different character has a second view of the phenomenon of "distracted attention".Characteristics of attention in this case presents a serious concentration on anything nezamechaniem one and other surrounding objects.Such distractions inherent enthusiastic people - scientists, writers, fans of the business.
Characteristics care
Two characteristics of attention in psychology - is the care and negligence.In principle, it can be said that the two aspects of properties.Since childhood, the child is taught to do everything carefully, and eventually becomes a permanent feature of attention to people - care.With this feature, people will present themselves in society only on the positive side.This trait is also accompanied by observation, ability to perceive better the environment.Attentive man has a rapid reaction to events and deeper experience, a good ability to learn.
Care has a connection with the development of the productive process, as attention.Features attention (ie volume, concentration, stability, distribution) to help develop quality above properties.Such a person has no problems with sosredotachivaniem or involuntary attention.
Psychologists say that in work or school plays an important role interest.For a careful man is much easier to mobilize if there is no interest in the case.Darwin, Pavlov, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Gorky described different properties.
Warning and types
scientists, psychologists have developed several classifications of this mental process.The criterion is the most popular activity of the person in the organization of attention.According to this release 3 of its kind: an involuntary, arbitrary and posleproizvolnoe.
Involuntary attention
Feature involuntary attention is that it is unfocused process of concentration of consciousness to certain stimuli.This is the primary form of developing in ontogenesis during the preschool age.It occurs without the participation of strong-willed regulation.
Involuntary attention is characterized by the absence of struggle motives, interests inherent arbitrary where people can tear competing impulses having different directions and that can attract and retain the consciousness of the individual.
Arbitrary attention
characteristic of voluntary attention shows that it is a conscious and controlled process of concentration of consciousness on the subject, which meets the requirements of business.This species begins its development from primary school age, when a child begins to learn.
person focuses not only on the emotionally pleasant situation, but also on the fact that part of his duties and does not bring much pleasure.After 20 minutes, the nerve processes fatigued - a person begins to be distracted.This fact should be considered in the process of learning and working.
Man makes an informed choice in favor of an interest in using willpower and directs all its attention on a single object, while the other suppresses impulses.
posleproizvolnoe attention
This kind of attention is considered to be the most productive as a person continues to function arbitrary attention, but willpower for this is no longer necessary.This happens when passion work.
In psychological characteristics presented similar to the kind of attention involuntary.But the main difference is that posleproizvolnoe account interest due not to the subject, and the direction of the individual.The activity becomes a necessity, and its product is of great importance for the individual.The duration of this attention is not limited.
Other attention
addition to the above, there are also the following:
- Natural attention.Man selectively responds to stimuli from the external and internal environment, which carry information novelty.The basic mechanism in this case becomes the orienting reflex.
- social focus is formed as a result of educational and training measures.Here we have a strong-willed regulation of the conscious and selective response.
- immediate attention is directly related to the actual object.
- Mediated attention depends on the specific methods and tools (a gesture, a word, a sign of the index, and so on. D.).
- Sensuous attention is connected with the emotional sphere, and focusing on selective senses.
- Intelligent attention due to the human mental activity.
Conclusion In the present paper was considered a mental phenomenon of attention.It is not an individual cognitive process, but rather accompanies and serves the activities of memory, thinking, imagination, and others.
