Our mental cognitive processes are what make us unique and different from animals. They always work together: our sensations allow us to form an impression of a phenomenon, perception reflects the reality inside our consciousness, thinking involves other brain functions, and so on. In this article, I will define the term voluntary attention and explain in detail what it is in psychology, how it affects our ideas about the world around us and how it interacts with human psychomotor abilities.
Attention as a psychological term
Specifying the term “attention” causes a number of difficulties for psychologists. Attention cannot be studied in isolation from other mental processes. In Gestalt psychology it is not considered at all as an independent phenomenon, but is used to clarify and describe the general state in more detail.
Attention is a conscious focus on any object, phenomenon or action. We can talk about anything here: a mug of tea on the desktop, thoughts about the approaching weekend, a quarrel with a loved one.
Everything else becomes the background: it has blurred and lost clarity. We look at the mug, but don’t notice the plate standing next to it. We think about the day off and cannot concentrate on work.
Attention performs the following functions:
- monitors the progress and effectiveness of activities;
- maintains the required activity until the goal is achieved;
- selects significant stimuli and ignores unimportant ones.
Externally and internally focused attention
Attention can be paid either to objects of the external world, or to thoughts, feelings, memories. On this basis, externally and internally directed attention is distinguished.
If, while performing a task, memories pop up in a person’s memory that distract him from the main activity, this will be involuntary internally directed attention. Sometimes involuntary, but intense internally directed attention can cause a person to be inattentive.
Voluntary attention singles out from the entire mass of phenomena acting on analyzers only that part of it that should occupy a central place in human activity. However, this part is not always the same in volume. It is different in the same circumstances for different people and for the same person in different conditions.
Types of attention: main classification
Types of attention are interrelated and should not be considered artificially as independent of each other.
△ Natural attention
Attention is given from birth and is the innate ability to selectively respond to stimuli or incoming information. It is genetically determined.
The baby's gaze stops at the bright rattle, and his head turns towards the mother's voice.
The main mechanism of natural attention is called the orienting reflex.
△ Socially conditioned attention
It is formed throughout life through upbringing, training, and interaction with society. It is associated with volitional regulation and selective response.
For example, this is a person’s special attitude towards phenomena and objects related to his culture: books, musical instruments, national dishes.
△ Direct attention
Such attention is not controlled by anything. Only the object of interest matters. Caused by unusual phenomena (strong odor, loud noise, unexpected changes).
Occurs upon contact with a stimulus and is retained by the object itself.
△ Vicarious attention
Adjustable using special means: indicator signs, gestures, markers, colored bookmarks. Duration and quality depend not so much on the stimulus as on the will and efforts of the person.
△ Involuntary attention
The simplest type of attention that occurs under the influence of an intense stimulus. Volitional actions do not take part in this process. It is also called forced: does not depend on consciousness.
A person with involuntary attention is not far from Pavlov's dog. He lives with the “I want” attitude, where the external dominates consciousness. Example: we are thinking about baking from the store and cannot concentrate on business.
△ Voluntary attention
Attention is the result of volitional efforts. Thanks to him, we don’t go watch TV, but continue to compile the annual report of our company.
Full control of attention implies active consciousness, growth and development.
△ Sensual attention
Associated with emotions and sensory impressions. When a person listens to music or watches a movie, he strives to experience as vivid a sensory experience as possible. All his energy is mobilized in this direction.
△ Intellectual attention
Attention is focused on the intensity of thought processes. The key object is the thought of interest. Attention is now directed not to action, but to various considerations in favor of one or another of them.
This process can continue for quite a long time: until the subject settles on one of the possible options for the further development of events.
Write down distracting thoughts and actions
Make a “not to do” list. Every time you want to check social media, news resources, or can't get rid of an idea, write it down. By transferring these thoughts onto paper, you will thus get rid of them. However, if some of them appear again, this signal should not be ignored - think about why this or that issue is bothering you and how it needs to be resolved.
Basic characteristics of attention
Attention has certain parameters and features. In many ways they characterize human abilities.
Characteristic No. 1. Switchability
Attention can consciously switch from one object to another. This feature allows you to instantly navigate changing situations. The switching speed depends on a number of conditions: it is different for everyone.
If the psyche cannot adapt to different types of activity, fatigue accumulates instantly.
Scientists have proven that women switch attention faster than men.
Characteristic No. 2. Volume
The volume of attention is measured by the number of objects that can be captured by attention. A tachistoscope is used for measurements. It allows you to project images at strictly defined times (including very short intervals).
This is an individual characteristic, but its average is 5+2 (7 objects). It is possible to increase the volume: to do this, learn to group information according to content and meaning.
Characteristic No. 3. Absent-mindedness
A person switches attention from one object to another: it is impossible to concentrate on the same thing for a long time. This ability is called absent-mindedness. It can be real or imaginary.
With imaginary switching to something else, it is difficult. This is due to too much “obsession” with one event or object. Other items are simply not noticed. Result: the subject withdraws and creates a lot of problems for himself.
True distribution is expressed by weak intensity of attention.
Characteristic No. 4. Distribution
Consciousness can hold several objects at once. Although a person is capable of simultaneously performing only one type of conscious mental activity, subjectively it is felt as several.
It's all about switching from one to another at lightning speed.
In some situations, an individual still performs 2 types of activities at once (for example, knitting and watching a movie). Here one of the actions is brought to automaticity and does not require close attention from it.
Characteristic No. 5. Oscillations
Fluctuations occur more often in people with stable attention. These are short-term enhancements or weakening of abilities. Measured in a time interval from 6 to 12 seconds.
Characteristic No. 6. Sustainability
The ability to maintain attention on one object for a long period of time. Resilience is closely related to the characteristics of the nervous system and depends on the state of the organism as a whole.
Characteristic No. 7. Concentration
Focusing on one object while distracting from others is called concentration. With the ability to focus on a specific type of activity, you can achieve high productivity.
The maximum level of concentration occurs at critical moments (when a possible danger arises).
Characteristic No. 8. Distractibility
Attention involuntarily moves from one object to another. In this case, external stimuli must act on a person.
According to statistics, a subject begins to be distracted after 20 minutes of productive work.
What is voluntary attention in children
Despite the fact that lasting interest is not available to children until they enter school, where serious preparation begins, already in infancy the beginnings of the cognitive process can be seen. For example, at the moment when adults show a child a bright toy, he carefully follows it with his eyes. This indicator is one of the key in determining the degree of mental development in the first months of life.
After a couple of years, the formation of the skill becomes more active, and by 4-5 years the baby can follow the instructions of the teacher or parent during training. At this stage, it remains important to maintain the child’s interest and involve this process in play activities. By the time he enters school, volitional skills have developed sufficiently for the student to be able to independently determine a goal for himself, give instructions for achieving it, and draw up some kind of program.
The time period during which children are able to maintain concentration on a specific task is much less than that of adults. Therefore, it is extremely important to take into account age characteristics and not make too high demands. Even the most exciting game will not interest a three-year-old for more than 20 minutes, just as an entertaining lesson will not keep a child at his desk for more than 45 minutes.
Formation
To learn to focus on something, desires or talents alone are not enough - if we are talking about a small child. Much more important is the preparatory work carried out by adults. Several key factors can help you learn a new skill faster:
- The ability to group by type, color, shape, and other indicators (they depend on age).
- Clear indication of the rules of the games, as well as its beginning and end.
- Consistent instructions given by a teacher or parent.
- Dosing loads taking into account age-related mental characteristics.
It is also important to properly organize the training process, especially if it is carried out simultaneously with a group of children, as happens in kindergarten. A teacher must not only be persistent in his desire to teach, but also consistent, logical, and flexible. An individual approach is the key to successful mastery of the proposed material.
Physical education also contributes to the development of volitional qualities. It is sports activities and games that first teach children purposefulness, following rules, and foster independence and activity. At the same time, we should not forget that the child has the right to make mistakes and be distracted. The process should be gradual and gentle, not harsh and aggressive. Regular classes and joint work of educators and parents bring tangible results.
Problems of attention
Attention is constantly being collected and divided: its switching every minute is a normal property of the nervous system. At moments of switching, the body releases pleasure hormones, as if rewarding us for such actions.
ADHD in adults – what is it? Great article + practical excerpts from the book “Why I Get Distracted” by John Ratey and Edward Hallowell
Deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) indicates a crisis in attention management. People with this feature cannot take things to their logical conclusion. When the intensity of the experience subsides, they forget about their intended goals.
The conditions of the modern world force a person to strive for multitasking: in the hope of being able to do everything, we divide our attention into several processes.
Thus, a higher education diploma is no longer enough: information is updated so quickly that you have to study constantly (otherwise you risk losing your qualifications).
A tool for developing attention|An example from personal experience
For me personally, freewriting or freewriting classes, which is the process of writing text on a piece of paper or typing on a computer, for a certain period of time, became a tool for developing attention and training my mental skills while maintaining physical activity.
Of course, the benefits for the physical body are very small, but still, even the simple process of pressing buttons on the keyboard and sitting on a chair in front of a computer monitor requires spending a certain amount of physical energy.
The main benefit for developing my attention is in the area of mental skills that are developed during each freewriting session. It turns out that you need to simultaneously keep in your field of vision both the process of searching for the necessary letters on the keyboard, and the process of thoughts arising in your head and reproducing them in the form of text.
During training, my attention becomes both the manager and regulator of all ongoing processes. In addition, it plays the role of a driving force that provides these processes with the necessary energy resources.
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to touch type, so I have to type with my eyes buried in the buttons on the keyboard. Therefore, when after a while my attention concentrates only on this moment and loses sight of what is happening on the monitor screen, the idea of the story is gradually lost.
When I try to concentrate on my thoughts, which need to be expressed in readable and understandable text, my typing speed immediately drops. So I have to learn the skill of simultaneously concentrating attention and distributing it between objects of observation, which gradually leads to a slight increase in the volume of my attention.
This practice, which I really like, is given by me only in order to more clearly show the process of interaction between the observer and the object of his interest through the power of his own attention. There are a huge number of such tools, a detailed examination of which will take quite a lot of time.
How to develop attention?
The main goal of attention is to pick out specific figures against a general background. But there is also the opposite situation: there are no figures, all attention must be focused on the background.
Cognitive simulators
Today there are special developments for the development of cognitive abilities. The computer program offers the user to perform various exercises to concentrate attention and develop logical thinking. Most often they are designed in a playful way, so they attract the attention of both adults and children.
Brain trainers. Surprised, but it works!
The human brain has neuroplasticity: it is able to change throughout life. However, it is important to understand that cognitive trainers only develop the skill they are aimed at. They will not make a genius out of a person.
The simulators give good results at the beginning: they stimulate the sleeping areas of the cerebral cortex. However, as soon as the brain “solves the riddle”, addiction sets in. The game process continues, but does not transfer into real life.
Formal practices
Formal practice is meditation for which a special place and time is allocated. At such moments, a person is simply busy “being” here and now.
Psychologists call meditation an effective tool in working with attention. However, practicing yoga or qigong imposes certain limits: not all people are ready for the transformation process.
Informal practices
A variety of metaphorical trainings are used in informal practices. Real life situations are presented in a playful way, which provides a good emotional shock. But without systematic work, the methods do not make sense.
The object of this practice can be any activity you do throughout the day. Here are examples of the simplest manipulations, which, if desired, turn into the object of psychological therapy:
- a cup of tea or coffee (listen to the sensation of swallowing);
- contrast shower (feel the touch of water);
- the road to work (pay attention to the weather and everything that happens around);
- lunch or snack (put aside gadgets).
Volitional techniques
Psychonetics is aimed at results and creativity. The key role is played by the regularity of the sessions. The main task of psychonetics is the use of consciousness resources. Within its framework, an approach is being developed for the targeted use of refined forms of thinking and other mental functions.
At the genetic level, a person inherits not only character traits or illnesses, but also certain behavioral patterns. That is, in order to get rid of the stigma of a loser, it is important to deal not with the conflict itself, but with the hereditary reasons for such behavior.
What does an attentive person get?
Having mastered the skill of managing attention, we receive the key to achieving excellence in any area.
This is especially evident in the following areas:
- painting;
- music;
- extreme sport;
- speed reading;
- architecture;
- entrepreneurship;
- advertising;
- management;
- programming.
Attentive people know how to notice any changes and record them in their heads. Creative people are able to create a detailed description of a person after a fleeting meeting with him.
Mindfulness goes hand in hand with observation. Eyewitnesses to the same incident describe it in completely different ways. A professional point of view differs greatly from the opinion of an amateur who is not able to highlight a number of small details.
Theories of attention
Existing theories of attention are combined into several groups, depending on what specific scientists place at the center of this concept.
Based on the studies conducted, attention was considered as:
- the result of limited volume of consciousness;
- emotional component;
- special ability of the spirit;
- increased nervous irritability;
- the result of a motor adaptation.
Wilhelm Wundt's theory
The theory is based on the metaphor of the visual field: the information that is most clearly perceived is that which is located at a fixed point. Less distinct content is distributed in the normal visual field or at its periphery.
Wundt thought about how to distinguish between attention and consciousness. Attention, according to the scientist, is a mental process that occurs with clearer perception.
Wundt measured the volume of consciousness: it is equal to six complex elements. For this purpose, melodic series were used, including a different number of bars. When listening, the subjects determined whether they were the same or not.
The psychologist suggested that the focus of attention is only the tact perceived at the moment. All others are held together by associative connections.
Edward Titchener's theory
E. Titchener shared Wundt's opinion, but supplemented it with a schematic representation of the wave metaphor. Attention has an intermittent nature: at one moment only one fact is able to reach the “crest of the wave.”
The scientist divided the types of attention according to the degree of their arbitrariness. Primary attention is involuntary, secondary attention is active and includes a conflict between volitional effort and the activity of primary attention, trying to take control of the situation.
Watson James theory
James was interested in the problem of attention fluctuations. He believed that after just a few seconds, attention switches to other facets of a particular object or even moves to another. If an individual successfully copes with the task of developing the object of his attention, we can talk about genius.
The term “preperception” is often used in the scientist’s works. It refers to the mental expectation of an upcoming phenomenon.
Motor-emotional theory of Théodule Ribot
T. Ribot called attention “the dominance of one idea in consciousness,” which is accompanied by a natural or artificial adaptation of the individual. Attention strives for the unity of consciousness, which means it contradicts the everyday flow of life processes.
The French psychologist identified 3 types of physiological elements of attention - vascular, respiratory and facial. The psychological component of attention is closely related to the physiological one.
Lange's motor theory
Nikolai Nikolaevich Lange is the founder of the concept of volitional attention. He understood attention as a reaction of the body that instantly improves the conditions of perception.
It was important for the scientist to differentiate attention from other adaptive reactions.
Lange classified attention into reflexive, instinctive and volitional.
- Reflexive attention is devoid of an emotional component and occurs automatically (squinting in bright light, yawning).
- Instinctive - represents an adaptation. Determined by emotional state (surprise, admiration).
- With the help of volitional attention, we perceive everything that is closely related to memory (drawing without relying on a ready-made sample).
Dominant of consciousness of A. A. Ukhtomsky
The dominant of consciousness, which forms the basis of the theory of attention, is the focus of excitation in the nervous system, which determines human behavior in a specific period of time. This is how it becomes conscious and directed.
Excitation is distributed unevenly throughout the nervous system. Various types of activities can both activate and inhibit nerve agents.
Pavlov's theory of attention
In the cerebral cortex there is a focus of excitation, which is an unconditioned orienting reflex. It inhibits the connection of cortical areas, and due to this, all mental activity is directed towards one object.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov first introduced the concept of an orienting reflex. Any change in a person’s situation is manifested by a number of selective reactions. This is observed in head turns (towards a new object), changes in breathing, and vascular reactions.
Jim Broadbent's Early Breeding Model
The English psychologist D. Broadbent was the first to develop a holistic theory of attention. It was based on the thesis that information processing is limited by the capacity of the nervous system, which acts as a channel for it. Attention is related to the meaning of the message.
Anne Treisman's early selection model
In the early stages, information is filtered based on physical features, but not processed in any way. Later it will undergo another selection based on semantic characteristics. Before analyzing the signal, the brain makes a decision about what it needs.
Anne Treisman's model of attention
The theory of flexible selection adheres to the thesis that the information processing system has not one, but several filters. If there is nothing to process now, the filters are at rest.
The problem is solved by sequential processing at different stages:
- through the senses (sensory perception);
- perceptual cues;
- through associations;
- through the prism of personal meaning.
Model of late selection by D. and E. Deutsch
The Deutschs doubted the existence of an early selection mechanism. They hypothesized that the flow of information for processing is limited not at the input, but at the output - at the stage of awareness and decision making.
At a conscious level, a minimal percentage of the information received is processed. Most of it bypasses the level of consciousness.
Early selection selects on the basis of physical traits, while late selection selects on the basis of significance and relevance.
Donald Norman's Late Selection Model
The opinion of the cheat Deutsch was supported by D. Norman using the appropriateness block. He determined the level of expectations and coincidences of the subject and thus distinguished from the general flow what would be perceived by him.
Norman explained the problem of illusory perception. Due to insufficient sensory information, the system may issue an incorrect decision. Example: we stand at a bus stop for a long time and wait for the bus. At some point, we mistake an approaching truck for the desired transport.
Richard Shiffrin's model of attention
Shiffrin viewed the psyche as a set of automatic information processing processes.
The psyche takes into account a huge number of stimuli and processes them automatically, without having time to bring them to consciousness. For example, a person “automatically” takes various poses or demonstrates gestures.
Daniel Kahneman's resource model of attention
The scientist considered attention as a mental effort. Any task requires a certain amount of attention from the subject. Effective execution is guaranteed only with its help.
The more complex the task, the more attentional resources are expended. If a resource is not completely used up while performing work, it will serve as “additional system capacity.”
If there is not enough attention resource now, the object cannot cope with the task.
Ulrich Neisser's model of attention
Neisser pointed out the importance of activity in the act of attention. The act of attention is the result of choice. We choose what we want to see, eat or do. The act of attention is determined by cognitive schemes. They allow you to understand the degree of readiness to perceive certain information.
All information is redistributed within the perceptual cycle. At the first stage, the process of perception is launched and a specific fragment of reality is determined. Neisser connects attention to the cyclical organization of activity.
The scientific experiment involved two films. The plot was the same: the players moved around the room and tossed a ball to each other.
In the same feed, a girl suddenly appeared with an open umbrella. Spectators without any experience in distributing attention could not react to it in any way: they were absorbed in the process of the game.
Theory of L. S. Vygotsky
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky came to grips with the problem of the transition of involuntary attention to voluntary attention. He associated the development of attention with the ability to control one’s own behavior.
The scientist considered attention in two planes - as natural and a product of cultural development.
To solve a problem, you need to pay attention to an essential feature, and then establish a connection between it and the key object.
Theory of P. Ya. Galperin
Pyotr Yakovlevich Galperin considered attention to be internal control over behavior and viewed it as an action brought to the point of automatism. Any action consists of its own mental and executive parts. The latter is attention.
Control in the process of attention is carried out using the criterion of a measure or sample. This makes it possible to compare: what they wanted to get and what they got in the end.
Installation concept by Dmitry Nikolaevich Uznadze
The concept of attitude is an attempt to explain the activity of a living organism and its relationship with its environment.
In order for the installation to work, two conditions must be simultaneously met: the need and the objective situation.
Attitude underlies behavior and precedes our actions. It develops under the influence of internal and external factors.
Model of attention in cognitive psychology
Donald Broadbent compares the functioning of attention to the work of a filter that selects information. This is how our psyche is protected from overload.
The processing unit simultaneously passes no more than six pieces of information. The processing stage can be divided into two stages:
- sensory (all messages pass simultaneously and without obstacles);
- repeated (one message passes without loss).
The two stages are separated by an all-or-nothing filter. If certain information is being processed now, at this time another is no longer skipped.
Attention is influenced by a number of factors, each of which can affect the results of activities, both positively and negatively. It is easier for an attentive person to move up the career ladder and establish contacts with other people.
