Concentration of attention is the ability to keep attention on the same object. The psychology of attention suggests that concentration is one of its basic properties, and largely determines the level of efficiency and success of solving various problems.
Many processes require constant concentration from us, but it is extremely difficult to maintain, because this requires a serious mental strain and quickly leads to fatigue. Moreover, there are specific violations of concentration of attention, which make it extremely difficult and almost impossible.
Disturbance of concentration
Absence of attention can be of several types:
- True absent - mindedness is a state in which the attention of a person freely wanders without stopping at a particular object. Sometimes it is called prostration, if it is a question of absent-mindedness in a negative sense and is accompanied by a decline in strength, a lack of interest in what is happening, boredom, etc. May occur in case of overfatigue, lack of sleep, poor health or prolonged performance of monotonous work.
- Imaginary absentmindedness is manifested if a person can not rationally distribute attention between the external environment and his own thoughts. The reason is concentration on the inner stream of thoughts.
- Discipleship is too high a switch of attention.
- Old absentmindedness is a bad switchability of attention.
- Motivationally caused inattention - lack of concentration of attention, conscious avoidance of thoughts about certain objects, their ignoring.
- Selective absentmindedness - the exclusion of familiar things, for example, the usual heartbeat does not attract our attention, as does the breathing process, and the ticking of the clock in your room.
Ways of concentration of attention
Attention can be either voluntary or involuntary, respectively, the concentration of attention is produced both by effort of will and by itself, it can be said, voluntarily, based on personal interest in the object. Needless to say, in the first case, a lot of energy is required for long-term maintenance of attention. It can lead to exhaustion, and is rather limited in time. The concentration of attention, based on interest in the object is less tedious, and contributes to greater productivity. Therefore, it is so important to do things that you like and cause genuine interest.
How to develop concentration of attention?
The ability to concentrate on a particular object develops with age. It is difficult for children to concentrate for a long time, but already to elementary school children, as a rule, can easily sit out lessons and thus acquire the ability to learn. Otherwise, there may be talk of hyperactivity and other violations.
Training concentration of attention occurs in the learning process. The child has to concentrate on one subject for a sufficiently long time, gradually he gets used to such loads and copes with them all more easily. By the time of graduation, a person freely possesses arbitrary attention, which allows him to engage in professional activities. If you consider yourself to be a distracted person, you are constantly distracted from performing tasks on external stimuli and your thoughts, which hampers successful work and delivers other inconveniences, you can try using special techniques to concentrate your attention, try to increase interest (for example, having invented additional motivation).
There are various exercises for concentration of attention:
- brain impulses. Take a sheet of paper and a pencil, start drawing a line, concentrating all your attention on the tip of the pencil. Every time attention is distracted, draw a zigzag, and then continue to concentrate on the line you are driving. This will allow you to estimate how long you can keep attention, gradually the gaps will become longer;
- the center of the universe. A good way to spend time with benefit in public transport or in line. Choose an object, for example, an advertising poster. Designate for yourself a time interval and focus on the object, think only about it, until the time runs out.
Gradually increase the gap; - count. If, while reading a book, you notice that you can not hold your attention, mark the margins every time you are distracted. Go back to the place whose content you remember and start reading from it. At the end of the page, each time, mentally recall the main points. Over time, the number of notes should be reduced.
If problems with attention can not be solved independently, it may be worthwhile to see a doctor who will help to find the best way out and prescribe vitamins for concentration.