Attention is a special mental process, thanks to which our cognitive activity is directed and focused on phenomena and objects, processes and connections that are present in the world around us.

In psychology, usually according to the degree of participation of the will in the process of memorization, involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary attention are distinguished. The involuntary is not distinguished by the setting of a goal to remember, nor by the application of effort. Arbitrary, on the contrary, is characterized by setting the goal to remember and the conscious use of willpower for remembering. The post-voluntary grows out of the arbitrary: becoming habitual, the effort of the will ceases to be a burden. The setting of the goal remains, but the volitional effort as such is no more. This happens when the process of purposeful efforts becomes so important that a person is captured by his activity, and he no longer needs to make volitional efforts.

Features of voluntary attention

Arbitrary attention is manifested when we set ourselves a task and develop a program for its implementation. The ability to control arbitrary attention is formed in a person gradually, it is not innate. But, having mastered the habit of arbitrarily controlling our attention, its direction and concentration, we solve our problems more easily and no longer feel tension or discomfort due to the need to concentrate and keep our attention on what is necessary.

Arbitrary attention demonstrates the volitional qualities of the personality and its activity, reveals the circle of interests, goals, and effectiveness. The main function of this type of attention is active participation in the regulation of the course of mental processes. Arbitrary attention allows you to find the necessary information in memory, identify the main thing, determine the solution and act, solving problems and tasks.

Arbitrary attention, being included in the work, involves the cerebral cortex (frontal regions), which are responsible for programming and correcting human activity (including his behavior). The peculiarity of voluntary attention is manifested in the fact that the main stimulus in this case is a signal from the second signaling system (and not from the first, as happens with involuntary attention). The excitation that arises in the cerebral cortex as a thought or an order to oneself becomes dominant. "Feeding" of voluntary attention occurs when the upper parts of the brain stem, the reticular formation, the hypothalamus are activated, that is, under the influence of verbal stimuli. Arbitrary attention is the highest mental function that distinguishes a person.

The conscious application of volitional efforts is a feature of voluntary attention that helps in the process of working with new, unfamiliar material, in case of difficulties in work, with a decrease in cognitive interest in the topic, in the presence of various kinds of distractions.

Some distinctive features of voluntary attention as the highest mental function can be distinguished:

Its mediation and awareness;

Arbitrariness;

Emergence in the course of the evolution of the development of society;

Formation during life;

The passage of certain developmental phases in ontogenesis;

The dependence and conditionality of the development of the child's voluntary attention on his involvement in the learning process and on the assimilation of certain patterns of attention organization.

Types and characteristics of voluntary attention

There are several types of voluntary attention: volitional, expectant, conscious and spontaneous. Each of these types of voluntary attention has its own specific features. The characteristics of voluntary attention in this case are somewhat different from each other:

- Volitional manifests itself in a conflict between “I want” and “need”, when you have to apply willpower and make efforts.

- Expectant is manifested in the process of solving problems that involve vigilance.

Consciousness is voluntary in character, but does not require much effort and flows easily.

- Spontaneous attention, close to post-voluntary, is characterized by the fact that in this case it is difficult to start something, but in the process of work, efforts are no longer needed.

In older preschoolers, voluntary attention is still relatively weakly expressed and is not very stable. Therefore, parents and educators are faced with the difficult task of organizing the arbitrary attention of the child, without letting things take their course and without dooming the development of attention to dependence on random coincidences.

Voluntary attention of the child

The first signs of the child's voluntary attention appear when we point him to a toy, and at the same time the child looks at him. The simplest form of voluntary attention of a child begins to develop actively at about 2-3 years. By the age of four or five, a child, under the guidance of an adult, is already able to follow the rather complex instructions of an adult, and by the age of six, the child is already able to direct his attention, following his own instructions. Volitional processes develop from the age of six or seven.

It is necessary to take into account the age capabilities of the child, limiting the time for careful completion of tasks. Often parents consider their child inattentive, making too high demands on him. Psychological research shows that at different ages, children are able to focus for different periods of time, even on the game. So, at six months, one game takes a child a maximum of a quarter of an hour, and by the age of six, the playing time increases to one and a half hours. At the age of two, the baby is not yet able to "distract for an hour" with the game.

The ability to concentrate also develops gradually, and the child, as a result, is less distracted with age. Studies show that if at the age of three in 10 minutes of play the kid is distracted about four times, then at six years old - only once. Therefore, when working with a preschool child, you need to give preference to short, alternating exercises. Each task should trigger involuntary attention, capturing novelty, attracting and intriguing. Then voluntary attention starts: the adult gives instructions on how to perform the task. If the child is carried away by the task, then the mechanism of post-voluntary attention will also be launched, which will allow the child to study for quite a long time.

By about the age of six, there is a gradual development of voluntary and post-voluntary attention: the child is able, by an effort of will, to direct attention to something that needs to be done, although, perhaps, he would prefer to do something more exciting. And only by the third grade the child can already hold attention throughout the lesson.

Formation of voluntary attention

To form the voluntary attention of older preschoolers, it is recommended to take into account the factors that help organize the mobilization of attention most effectively. This purpose is served by:

- The ability to group perceived objects.

- A clear construction of the beginning and end of the game, the presence of attributes.

- Logically consistent and understandable instructions from an adult.

– Alternation of different activities using different analyzers (auditory, tactile, visual).

- Dosing of the load, taking into account the individual characteristics of the preschool child, both age-related and personal.

The formation of voluntary attention occurs under the influence of the family, kindergarten, intellectual development, in a holistic system of education and upbringing. It includes the development of volitional qualities, and the development of a conscious attitude to the acquisition of knowledge, and physical and aesthetic education. At the same time, an important role is given to the use of pedagogical skills, thanks to which it is possible to organize classes for preschoolers as efficiently as possible. The teacher will need intelligibility, clarity, expressiveness of the presentation of the material, visibility, the use of special exercises for the development of attention. Highlighting letters, painting, finding errors and other techniques are effective. Involving preschoolers in new activities for them, the direction and guidance of adults will gradually help the child to master the ability to control attention independently.

In the formation of voluntary attention, an important role is given to the education of persistent pursuit of the goal, willpower and purposefulness. An equally important role is given to games that require you to follow certain rules. Such games bring up character, will, independence, purposefulness and activity.

In the next article, we will talk about the development of voluntary attention, consider several games for the development of voluntary attention, and also dwell in more detail on the types of disorders and methods for correcting a child's voluntary attention.

Regular classes and training always bring tangible results. It is never too late to develop volume, concentration, stability, switchover of attention! This can be done daily and with pleasure, with the help of gaming.

We wish you success in self-development!

Let's consider two classifications.

1. Attention can be external(directed to the surroundings) and internal(focus on one's own experiences, thoughts, feelings).

Such a division is to some extent arbitrary, since often people are immersed in their own thoughts, pondering their behavior.

2. The classification is based on the level of volitional regulation. Attention stands out involuntary, arbitrary, after-arbitrary.

involuntary attention arises without any effort on the part of the person, and there is no purpose and special intention.

Involuntary attention may occur:

1) due to certain characteristics of the stimulus.

These features include:

a) strength, and not absolute, but relative (in complete darkness, the light from a match can attract attention);

b) surprise;

c) novelty and unusualness;

d) contrast (among Europeans, a person of a Negroid race is more likely to attract attention);

e) mobility (the action of the beacon is based on this, which does not just burn, but flashes);

2) from the inner motives of the individual.

This includes the mood of a person, his interests and needs.

For example, the old facade of a building is more likely to attract the attention of a person interested in architecture than other passers-by.

Arbitrary attention arises when a goal is consciously set, for the achievement of which strong-willed efforts are applied.

Voluntary attention is most likely in the following situations:

1) when a person is clearly aware of his duties and specific tasks in the performance of activities;

2) when the activity is carried out under habitual conditions, for example: the habit of doing everything according to the regime creates in advance an attitude towards voluntary attention;

3) when the performance of the activity concerns any indirect interests, for example: playing scales on the piano is not very exciting, but necessary if you want to be a good musician;

4) when favorable conditions are created during the performance of activities, but this does not mean complete silence, since weak side stimuli (for example, quiet music) can even increase work efficiency.

Post-voluntary attention is intermediate between involuntary and voluntary, combining the features of these two types.

It arises as an arbitrary one, but after some time, the activity performed becomes so interesting that it no longer requires additional volitional efforts.

Thus, attention characterizes the activity and selectivity of a person in his interaction with others.

2. Traditionally, there are five properties of attention:

1) concentration (concentration);

2) sustainability;

4) distribution;

5) switching.

Concentration(concentration) - attention is kept on any object or activity, while being distracted from everything else.

Sustainability- this is a long retention of attention, which increases if a person is active when performing actions with objects or performing activities.

Stability decreases if the object of attention is mobile, constantly changing.

Volume attention is determined by the number of objects that a person is able to perceive clearly enough at the same time. For most adults, the amount of attention is 4–6 objects, for a schoolchild it is 2–5 objects.

Distribution of attention- the ability of a person to perform two or even more activities simultaneously, when a person is simultaneously focused on several objects.

As a rule, distribution occurs when any of the activities is mastered to such an extent that it requires little control.

For example, a gymnast can solve simple arithmetic problems while walking on a beam that is 10 cm wide, while a person who is far from sports is unlikely to do this.

Switching attention- the ability of a person to focus alternately on one or another activity (object) in connection with the emergence of a new task.

Attention also has its drawbacks, the most common of which is absent-mindedness, which is expressed in two forms:

1) frequent involuntary distractibility in the process of performing activities.

They say about such people that they have “fluttering”, “sliding” attention. May occur as a result of:

a) insufficient development of attention;

b) feeling unwell, tired;

c) for students - neglect of educational material;

d) lack of interest;

2) excessive focus on one object or activity, when no attention is paid to anything else.

For example, a person, thinking about something important for himself, may, crossing the road, not notice the red color of the traffic light and fall under the wheels of a car.

So, the positive properties of attention help to perform any type of activity more efficiently and efficiently.

3. The attention of a preschooler is characterized by such qualities as involuntary, lack of concentration, instability.

With admission to school, the role of attention rises sharply, because it is a good level of its development that is the key to the success of mastering educational activities.

How can the teacher organize the attention of students during the lesson?

Let us name only some of the pedagogical techniques that increase the attentiveness of schoolchildren.

1. The use of voice and emotional modulation, gesticulation attracts the attention of students, i.e. the teacher should constantly change the intonation, pitch, volume of the voice (from ordinary speech to a whisper), while using adequate facial expressions and gestures.

Be mindful of gestures of openness and goodwill (see topic "Communication").

2. Change of pace: maintaining a pause, a sharp change in speed, a transition from deliberately slow speech to a tongue twister.

3. In the course of explaining the new material, students should take notes on the key (key) words, you can invite someone alone to do this on the board.

At the end of the explanation, the students take turns reading their notes.

4. In the course of the explanation, interrupt the speech at words that are quite obvious to the listeners, requiring them to continue.

The activity of schoolchildren should be encouraged in accessible ways.

5. "Memory lapses", when the teacher allegedly forgets something quite obvious to the audience and ask him to help him "remember" (dates, names, terms, etc.).

6. The use of various types of questions in the course of explaining new material: leading, control, rhetorical, clarifying, counter, questions-suggestions, etc.

7. Changing the types of activities during the lesson significantly increases the attentiveness of schoolchildren (for example, in a mathematics lesson, this can be an oral account, a solution at the blackboard, answers on cards, etc.).

8. A clear organization of the lesson, when the teacher does not have to be distracted by side actions, leaving the children left to their own devices.

If you need to write something on the board, it is better to do it in advance during recess.

When teaching younger students, it is inappropriate to interrupt their activities with additional instructions such as: “Do not forget to start with the red line”, “Remember vocabulary words”, etc.

After all, the work has already begun, and the demands "after" will only distract the children.

It is also unacceptable, when performing collective work, to make loud remarks to individual children (“Masha, do not stoop”, “Sasha, do not fidget”), thereby distracting other class students from work.

For children of primary school age, it is important to think over changes, because children must have time to relax, but at the same time quickly join the process of the next lesson.

Compliance with the considered pedagogical conditions for increasing children's attention will make it possible to more successfully organize the student's educational activities.

Good attention is necessary not only for schoolchildren, but also for adults.

Let's take a closer look ways to improve attention.

2. It is important to systematically exercise in the simultaneous observation of several objects, while being able to separate the main from the secondary.

3. You should train switching attention: the speed of transition from one activity to another, the ability to highlight the main thing, the ability to change the order of switching (figuratively, this is called the development of a “perception route”).

4. The presence of volitional qualities contributes to the development of stability of attention.

You need to be able to force yourself to focus when you don’t feel like it.

It is necessary to alternate difficult tasks with easy ones, interesting ones with uninteresting ones.

5. Frequent use of intellectual games (chess, puzzles, etc.) also develops attention.

6. The best way to develop attention is to be attentive to the people around you.

Thus, one should develop and improve one's attention throughout one's life.

Attention is called the ability of a person to select certain objects from a variety of others and respond to them.

Types and differences

There are several types of attention. One of the main divides it into the following types:

• Involuntary - with the occurrence without effort on the part of a person, caused by the properties of the object itself. Involuntary attention (NV) is inherent in both people and animals, and is a natural quality. It is the result of the so-called orienting reflex: a complex reaction of the body to the novelty of the stimulus. Over time, as the stimulus hits the mind over and over again, the response becomes blunted. However, the information received in contact with the stimulus is remembered by itself, without effort on the part of the person. Involuntary attention arises due to the unexpected appearance of the stimulus, its strength, novelty, contrast with the environment, as well as the state of the psyche and emotions of the observer himself.
• Arbitrary - unlike involuntary, it is not inherent in animals and is the prerogative of man. It is always associated with volitional effort and purposeful mental activity of the observer. Voluntary attention (PV) is both a condition and a result of labor and social activity. On the one hand, consistent, purposeful work is impossible without voluntary attention. On the other hand, its development occurs precisely as a result of conscious actions that require mental effort and concentration.
• Post-voluntary - a natural continuation of voluntary attention, if the activity is not only necessary, but also arouses the interest of the performer. In this case, volitional effort to perform certain actions is no longer required: a person is passionate and able to easily concentrate on work.

Presentation: "Attention"

These types of attention constantly replace each other in the process of mental activity. So, a person can start reading a book as a reference for further work, and then get carried away with the topic and continue reading for their own interest and pleasure.

This is a vivid example of how post-voluntary attention is replacing voluntary attention. If a person gets tired and loses concentration, the PV can be replaced by an involuntary one - in relation to foreign objects.

Most often, however, our degree of concentration is not too high, and voluntary and involuntary attention are successfully combined with each other. Thinking about the solution to the problem, we have time to look at a bird flying outside the window, hear a phone call, or almost mechanically answer an extraneous question from a colleague.

How to improve the efficiency of your actions

With the help of voluntary attention, from a variety of objects and phenomena, those related to actual work are consciously distinguished. In essence, PV provides for the following sequence of actions: choosing and formulating a goal, organizing and focusing on it, and, in the end, its implementation.

However, keeping focus on one object or type of work for a long time leads to fatigue and loss of energy. On average, a person's concentrated mental effort begins to lose its effectiveness after 20 minutes.

Presentation: "Properties of Attention"

Continuing to work without interruption causes fatigue and an inability to actively think. Voluntary attention decreases and it is replaced by an involuntary kind of attention.

There are several factors that help improve work efficiency and stay focused:

• Interest in an activity that allows voluntary attention to move into post-voluntary. In this case, fatigue is significantly reduced, a person is able to process more information with better results.
• Habitual working conditions. As practice shows, changes in the interior, lighting or soundproofing (in any direction) are distracting and do not allow you to concentrate. At the same time, maintaining concentration requires more effort than usual, a person gets tired faster, and the work he does loses a lot in quality.
• No strong irritants. These include sharp unexpected noises, flashes of light, an abundance of moving objects around, conversations on extraneous topics. All of these are also distractions and interfere with concentration.

However, it should be noted that weak stimuli - for example, the usual ticking of a clock, quiet music, muffled street sounds - on the contrary, contribute to maintaining attention. They lead to the emergence of weak foci of excitation in the cerebral cortex, which complement the main focus associated with the implementation of the current task; as a result, the concentration of the performer and the efficiency of his work increase. In this way, the NV helps to strengthen the PV.

Presentation: "Human Cognitive Processes"

To maintain an acceptable level of concentration, a regular change of activity is recommended.

Each person has his own characteristics of perception and processing of information, inclination to one or another type of activity, but if we talk about intellectual efforts, on average it is enough for an adult to take breaks about once an hour or an hour and a half, switching to an easier or more interesting task, or physical labor that does not require a serious mental load.

With such a work schedule, on the one hand, we do not allow ourselves to overwork, and on the other hand, we train our ability to concentrate with sufficient stress.

Other properties of attention

In addition to concentration, attention has other properties - for example, volume: the number of objects or activities that we can perceive at one time, as well as distribution of attention - the ability to simultaneously solve several tasks. The amount and distribution of attention are characteristics that are important for performing various actions in real life: after all, most situations involve our ability to multitask.

For example, a person driving a car must simultaneously monitor the movement, road markings and signs, maneuvers of other motorists. The conductor of the orchestra reads the score and immediately gives commands to the orchestra members. The student listens to the lecture, takes notes and memorizes the necessary information. At the same time, our involuntary attention distracts from the performance of the main actions to extraneous phenomena.

Activities with children

Voluntary attention develops in the learning process from early childhood, while involuntary attention is an innate quality. Unlike involuntary, PV in children needs special training, for example, with the help of special classes in preschool institutions and at home.

Such activities can be concentration exercises: folding pictures from several parts, finding the relationship between objects, playing with words and other tasks that involve intellectual effort.

The higher the child's interest in classes, the more effective the training. Thus, one of the main tasks of the educator is to excite children's interest and attract all kinds of attention to help the learning process.

It is important to bear in mind that for children, as for adults, there is a threshold after which concentration inevitably decreases; exercises lose their meaning and effectiveness, and a tired child becomes overly excitable and unreceptive to learning. In this case, it is pointless to insist on continuing classes: switching to other activities or games, physical activity, or a simple walk in the fresh air will help. Like any skill, attention training requires gradualness, regular repetition, and a systematic approach.

Attention is when a person selectively directs and focuses his consciousness on an object or a certain activity. At the same time, the sensory and motor, and intellectual activity of the individual increases. Mindfulness has an organic basis, representing a special structure of the brain that ensures the functioning of this parameter and is responsible for the manifestation of the characteristics of the external plan. In the brain, special cells are responsible for mindfulness - neurons, which experts also call novelty detectors.

Why is attention needed?

The answer to this question is the functions carried out by attention. The importance of mindfulness can be indicated by the simplest situational examples from the daily activities of a person, illustrating the work of "scattered from Basseinaya Street." So, carelessness can lead to erroneous actions. In some mental disorders, inattention in its extreme manifestations acts as a symptom of the disease. Inattention in children may indicate delayed developmental processes. Thus, voluntary attention may be impaired.

Psychologists distinguish the following main functions:

• vigilance;
• response to signals and their detection;
• search functions;
• selectivity;
• distribution.

Vigilance is important in providing a sense of personal security. Search features are also directly related to mindfulness. So, the development of this quality through search is facilitated by such a simple school technique as working on mistakes and checking one's own work for their presence. This not only develops mindfulness, but forms involuntary attention.

Mindfulness in the field of intellectual work is important. In order to identify the degree of its formation and development, various methods are used.

In addition, in psychology, such a concept as signs of attention is used. These include pantomic features of behavior: fading, holding the breath or slowing it down, manifested in concentration on a specific object, during intellectual work. So, today among the most studied is visual attention. A sign of its manifestation is contemplation or looking at visible objects, the ability to remember their arrangement or external features. Develop children's visual attention through color or shape. The development of auditory attention is based on the ability to memorize sounds and pronunciations.

Mindfulness in all its diversity

Such a parameter as mindfulness, within the framework of psychological science, is also subject to classification. There are the following types of attention:

1. involuntary;
2. arbitrary;
3. post-voluntary.

The classification is based on the principles of consciousness of choice, its direction and regulation. It is also important to mention that the types of attention described below cannot be considered separately.

involuntary attention

In order for it to manifest itself, a person does not need to make special efforts. Some strong irritant in the form of a new one that arouses interest is enough. The key function of involuntary attention is the ability of a person to quickly and adequately navigate with constantly changing parameters of the surrounding world, highlighting objects that are important in life, personal terms.

Involuntary attention in medicine is represented by several synonyms - passive attention or emotional. This emphasizes that the individual has no effort to focus on the object. There is a connection between the objects of attention and his emotions.

Arbitrary attention

It also has the following synonyms in the literature - active or strong-willed. This type is characterized by purposeful concentration of consciousness, coupled with the efforts of the will. A person who has set himself a certain task and consciously develops a program to achieve it, launches his voluntary attention. And it begins to regulate the mental processes occurring in the brain. The stronger the will of the individual, the more forces he will be able to mobilize to solve the tasks. Thanks to this function, a person can extract from his memory only the information necessary for this, highlighting the most important thing from the entire memory.

Based on this feature, the development of voluntary attention also works. An ordinary person without special training is able to use it for about 20 minutes.

Post-random view

The post-arbitrary view occurs in situations where the task goes from being paramount to being mundane. An example is a student with his homework. At first, by an effort of will, he sits down for their implementation, but gradually this process becomes commonplace, and for its implementation no volitional effort is needed on his part. A post-voluntary look is a habit of something.

In terms of psychological characteristics, this type is somewhat similar to involuntary. The duration of the manifestation of post-voluntary attentiveness can be several hours. It is actively used in pedagogical practice, artificially introducing schoolchildren into a state of post-voluntary attention.

Other types and properties of attention

In addition to these above, related to the main ones, there are several more:

• Natural attention is given to a person from birth. It is expressed in the selective response of the individual to stimuli with elements of novelty. It doesn't matter if they are internal or external. The main process that provides these types of attention, in particular their activity, is an orienting reflex;
• Socially conditioned attention is the result of human education and upbringing. It has a close connection with the regulation of behavior with the help of the will and consciously selective response to the object of attention;
• Direct attention - is controlled only by the object to which it is directed and if the object of attention fully corresponds to the needs and interests of the person at the moment;
• mediated attention. Its regulation occurs with the help of special means, which include gestures, words, indicating signs or objects;
• Sensual attention - is part of a person's emotionality and the selective activity of his organs responsible for feelings;
• Intellectual attention contacts with the direction and concentration of human thought.

The properties and manifestations of mindfulness are not subject to classification. And you can observe them in the course of intellectual activity. So, this is the ability to concentrate, switch from one type of activity to another job. Such a characteristic as intensity is also taken into account. It depends on the psychological significance and importance for the individual of intellectual or other activity.

Concentration - the ability to concentrate on a particular object for a long period of time, is one of the main signs of mindfulness.

development attention

Almost all forms of attention can be developed. This is facilitated by the educational, intellectual and labor activity of a person. At the same time, it is recommended to create conditions for it that contribute to the formation of:

1. intellectual work in the conditions of distracting factors, while ensuring that the person is not distracted by them;
2. get a person to realize that the work he masters is of social importance, and he must be responsible for the work he has done;
3. the distribution and volume of attention can be formed as a certain labor skill or intellectual activity by performing several actions simultaneously in conditions where the pace of activity is increasing. In this way, for example, visual attention is developed. There is also a classification according to the degree of complexity of various methods.

The stability of mindfulness can be ensured by the development of the volitional qualities of the individual. Switching is developed by the selection of special exercises. The method is often used when the development of voluntary attention is important. The only condition for learning is to do any work with high quality.

Article author: Syumakova Svetlana

Depending on the participation of the will, it can be involuntary or arbitrary. The most simple and genetically initial involuntary attention is called passive, forced, because it arises regardless of the goals facing the person. The direction and concentration of mental processes will be arbitrary if a person knows that he needs to perform certain work in accordance with the goal and the decision made.

involuntary attention

Involuntary attention is the most ancient kind of attention. Its occurrence is associated with various physical, psychophysiological and mental causes, which are also closely related to each other, but for convenience they were divided into categories:

1. The first group of causes is associated with the nature of the external stimulus with its strength or intensity. Involuntarily, this attention will be attracted by loud sounds, bright lights, pungent odors, etc. During the day, compared to night, a person reacts less to weak sounds, rustles, because their intensity is low. At night, a person reacts very sensitively to these same sounds. Involuntary attention arises and is maintained regardless of the person's consciousness, and the reason for its occurrence always lies in the environment;
2. The second group of reasons is related to the correspondence of external stimuli to the internal state of a person. For example, a well-fed and hungry person reacts differently to a conversation about food;
3. The orientation of the personality form the third group of causes. A person pays attention most of all to the sphere of his interests, including professional interests. For example, a policeman will pay attention to a car parked incorrectly, an editor will find errors in the text of a book, an artist will notice the beauty of an old building. The general orientation of the personality, therefore, and the presence of previous experience, directly affect the occurrence of involuntary attention;
4. The fourth independent group of causes is related to the attitude to the stimulus. What a person is interested in causes a certain emotional reaction in him and a positive or negative feeling is developed. For example, an interesting book, a pleasant interlocutor, an exciting film can rive the attention of a person for a long time, this happens by itself. I must say that unpleasant stimuli also attract attention, but neutral stimuli attract attention much less often.

Conclusion

Thus, involuntary attention has no purpose and volitional effort.

Arbitrary attention

Voluntary attention differs from involuntary attention in that it is controlled by a conscious goal and has efforts to actively maintain it. This type of attention was developed as a result of labor efforts, therefore it is often called strong-willed, active, deliberate.

For example, a person's attention is consciously directed to the decision to engage in some activity, even if it is not interesting. Voluntary attention in a sense is suppression, a struggle with involuntary attention.

Active regulation of the course of mental processes is the main function of voluntary attention, so it is qualitatively different from involuntary attention. Voluntary attention arose from involuntary in the process of conscious human activity. It can help you change your emotional state.

Arbitrary attention has social causes of its origin, it does not mature in the body, but is formed when the child communicates with adults. Selecting an object from the environment, an adult points to it and calls it a word. In response to this signal, the child repeats the word or grasps the object itself. It turns out that the given object for the child stands out from the external field.

Arbitrary attention is closely connected with speech, feelings, interests, previous experience of a person, but their influence is indirect.

The formation of voluntary attention is associated with the formation of consciousness. In a 2-year-old child, consciousness has not yet been formed, then voluntary attention is at the stage of development.

Experts identify another type of attention, which is purposeful and initially requires volitional efforts. Later, a person, as it were, "enters" the work, for him not only the result, but also the content and process of activity become significant and interesting.

Such attention N.F. Dobrynin called post-arbitrary. For example, when solving a complex problem, the student solves it only because it needs to be solved. When the right move is planned and the task becomes clear, its solution can captivate. Arbitrary attention became as if involuntary. Post-voluntary attention remains tied to conscious goals and supported by conscious interests, which distinguishes it from truly involuntary attention. Since there is no or almost no volitional effort here, it will not be similar to arbitrary attention. Post-voluntary attention is characterized by prolonged concentration, intense mental activity, and high labor productivity.

Types of attention are shown in the diagram.

Mechanisms of attention

As a result of research by Soviet and foreign scientists, many new data have been obtained that reveal the neurophysiological mechanisms of the flow of attention phenomena. The essence of attention lies in the selective selection of influences. According to the data obtained, this is possible against the background of general wakefulness of the body associated with active brain activity.

In the state of wakefulness of a person, a number of stages can be distinguished. For example, gradually a deep sleep can be replaced by a drowsy state, which will turn into a state of calm wakefulness. This state is called relaxed or sensory rest. A relaxed state can be replaced by a high level of wakefulness - active wakefulness or attention wakefulness, which turns into a state of sharp emotional arousal, fear, anxiety - this is the so-called excessive wakefulness.

In a state of increased wakefulness, active selective attention is possible, but concentration difficulties arise both against the background of relaxed and against the background of excessive wakefulness. Such changes in wakefulness are continuous and are a function of the levels of activity of nervous processes. Any nervous activation is expressed in increased wakefulness, and its indicator is a change in the electrical activity of the brain.

In various orienting reactions, a transition from calm wakefulness to alertness of attention is manifested. These reactions are very complex and are associated with the activity of a significant part of the organism. This guideline includes:

• External movements;
• Changing the sensitivity of certain analyzers;
• Change in the nature of metabolism;
• Changes in cardiac, vascular and galvanic skin reactions;
• Change in the electrical activity of the brain.

The physiological basis of attention, therefore, is the general activation of brain activity, but it does not explain the features of the selective flow of attention processes.

To clarify the physiological foundations of attention, the principle of dominant A.A. is of great importance. Ukhtomsky, according to which the brain always has a dominant focus of excitation. All excitations that go to the brain, he attracts to himself and dominates them.

Such a focus arises not only as a result of the strength of this stimulus, but also the internal state of the entire nervous system.

In the regulation of higher voluntary forms of attention, according to many researchers, the frontal lobes of the brain also play an important role.

According to modern data, thus, attention processes are associated with both the cortex and subcortical formations, only their role in the regulation of different forms of attention is different.