The problem of attention has always been the focus of many psychological concepts and teachings. So, for example, Pavlov, analyzing the types of attention in psychology, connected his functioning with brain processes and practically reduced his understanding to the level of an unconditioned reflex. Such an interpretation affirmed the ability of a person to concentrate all his mental activity on one object, which, due to the influence of various factors, appears at the center of this concentration.
The founder of another school, Ukhtomsky, argued that attention in any cases of its manifestation is always determined, first of all, by the properties of the subject itself on which it is concentrated. Moreover, this may not even be the whole thing, but only some of its sides that dominate other properties and predispose to appeal to oneself. As an active "accomplice" of the process of concentration of attention , the social significance for a particular person of that side of the subject that attracts his attention appears.
However, no matter what theories that analyze the types of attention in psychology we consider, it should be recognized that in many respects they all have approximately the same allocation of its characteristics.
Analyzing the types of attention in psychology, the level of concentration and stability is called its universal properties. Also, among the main ones, psychologists attribute such properties of attention as selectivity, distribution, switchability.
Now types of attention in psychology are considered and classified on the following grounds:
According to the form of activity, types of attention are classified into sensory-perceptual, intellectual and motor.
The dominant analyzer distinguishes such types of attention as visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, and others. This classification is very important in terms of professional self-determination of a person.
In modern science, they focus on external attention (oriented primarily to the outside world), internal (analyzes internal sensations and feelings) and borderline (tactile).
There is a classification according to the degree of volitional control. Here we consider such species as arbitrary and after-random. The first is active by nature, such attention must be initialized and evoked by volitional efforts. The second occurs spontaneously, because it is initiated by external stimuli. The post-spontaneous form is unstable, in its framework attention disorders are most often observed.
Attention not only provides a reflection of the orientation and degree of concentration of consciousness on any phenomena, facts, events. Attention contributes to the formation of a clear reflection, and therefore a reflection of objective reality. This is the function of attention in psychology, sociology, philosophy and other sciences that help shape the human social world. Among the most significant are such functions as:
- filtering the information received by the person based on his needs;
- ensuring selectivity and sustainability of attention at a socially significant object;
- activation of the necessary mental processes that are relevant at the moment, with the parallel inhibition of those that are not needed.
The performance of these functions is a prerequisite for the harmonious socialization of the individual and a guarantee of its successful entry into society. This role is highest in cognitive activity, where memory acts, for example, both as a basis for generating innovation, and as a guideline in creating exactly the new, unique, something that no one has created anywhere before.