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Attention – The Condition of Conscious Activity

– The era of special effects

Appears after the instinct period, on the basis of practice. Skill is a new behavior created by the individual. Skilled behavior is repeated many times to become shaped in animal behavior, but compared to instinct, skilled behavior has great flexibility and ability to change.

– Intellectual behavior period

Intellectual behavior is the result of practice, created by the individual in its life. Intellectual behavior in apes is mainly aimed at solving specific situations related to satisfying the biological needs of the body. Human intellectual behavior is born in activities, aiming to perceive nature, regular relationships, to adapt and transform objective reality. Human intellectual behavior is associated with language, is conscious behavior.

3.1.2. Psychological development in terms of individual

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a) What is psychological development (in terms of human individuality)?

– Following the general principle of all developments in the world, human psychological development, from birth to death, goes through many stages (called age stages). Accurately determining the stages of psychological development, finding the specific laws of psychological development in each stage, as well as the laws and mechanisms of transition from one age stage to another, has great significance in theory and practice. Human psychological development on an individual level is a continuous transition process from one level to another. At each age level, psychological development reaches a new quality and takes place according to specific laws.

Attention – The Condition of Conscious Activity

– LX Vygotsky (Soviet psychologist) based on the times when psychological development had mutations to determine the period of psychological development.

ANLeonchiev pointed out that human psychological development is closely linked to the development of human activities in practical life, in which some activities play a main (dominant) role in development, while others play a secondary role. Human psychological development depends mainly on the main activities. Psychologists have pointed out:

+ The main activity in infancy (from 0 to 1 year old) is direct emotional communication with adults, first of all with parents.

+ Play is the main activity in preschool age (from 3-6 years old).

+ Learning activities are the main activities of school age children.

+ Labor and social activities are the main activities of youth and adults.

The main activities have the most decisive effect on the formation of basic and characteristic features of the stage or age period; at the same time, they determine the nature of other activities.

b) Stages of psychological development by age

Infancy and childhood:

– Period from 0 to 2 months (newborn).

– Period from 2 to 12 months (infants) Preschool stage

– Preschool period (from 1 to 3 years old).

– Preschool period (from 3 to 6 years old). School age stage

– Early school age (children or primary school students, from 6 to 11 years old).

– Middle school age (teenagers or junior high school students, ages 12 to 15).

– Late adolescence (or adolescence, or high school age, from 15 to 18 years old).

– Student period: from 18 to 23, 24 years old.

Adulthood: from 24, 25 years old onwards.

Elderly stage: after retirement age, 55 - 60 years old and up.


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3.2. FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter III. FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND CONSCIOUSNESS

3.2.1. The nature and structure of consciousness

a) What is consciousness?

The word “consciousness” can be used in a broad or narrow sense. In a broad sense, consciousness is often used synonymously with spirit, ideology, etc. (organizational consciousness, disciplinary consciousness, etc.). In a narrow sense, the concept of consciousness is used to refer to a special level in human psychology.

So consciousness is the highest form of psychological reflection that only humans have, reflected through language, is the ability of humans to understand the knowledge (understanding) that humans have acquired (Knowledge about knowledge, reflection of reflection).

Consciousness can be likened to a “second eye” that looks at the results (psychological images) brought about by the “first eye” (sensation, perception, memory, thinking, emotion, etc.). With that meaning, we can say: Consciousness is perceived existence.

b) Basic properties of consciousness

Consciousness represents the highest human cognitive capacity about the world.

– Perception of essences, general perception through language.

– Anticipate the behavior plan and its results, making the behavior intentional.

Consciousness expresses human's attitude towards the world. Consciousness not only deeply perceives the world but also expresses the attitude towards it. C.Marx and F.Engels wrote: "For me, the consciousness of existence is the existence of a certain attitude towards this or that thing, animals do not know how to "show an attitude" towards any thing...".

Consciousness represents the ability to control and adjust human behavior:

On the basis of generalizing the nature and expressing the attitude towards the world. Consciousness controls and adjusts human behavior to achieve the set goals. Therefore, consciousness has the ability to create. V. Lenin said: "Human consciousness not only reflects objective reality but also creates it."

Self-awareness: humans are not only aware of the world, but at a higher level, humans have the ability to be self-aware, which means the ability to be self-aware, to determine one's own attitude towards oneself, to control, adjust, and perfect oneself.

c) Structure of consciousness

Consciousness is a complex psychological structure consisting of many aspects, a whole that gives the human spiritual world a new quality. In consciousness, there are three aspects organically unified with each other, controlling the conscious activities of humans.

Cognitive aspect

– Sensory cognitive processes bring the first materials to consciousness, which is the lower level of consciousness.

– The process of rational cognition is the next level in a cognitive consciousness, giving people essential and general understanding of objective reality. This is the very basic content of consciousness, the core of consciousness that helps people visualize the results of activities and plan their behavior.

The attitudinal aspect of consciousness expresses the subject's choice attitude, emotional attitude, and evaluative attitude toward the world.

The dynamic aspect of consciousness. Consciousness controls and regulates human activities, making human activities conscious. It is the process by which humans apply their knowledge and express their attitudes in order to adapt to, transform the world and themselves. On the other hand, consciousness arises and develops in activities. The structure of activities determines the structure of consciousness. Therefore, needs, interests, motivations, wills, etc. all have a certain position in the structure of consciousness.

3.2.2. Formation and development of consciousness

a) The formation of human consciousness (in terms of humanity)

The classic authors of Marxism have pointed out: First of all, labor, then labor and simultaneously with labor, language, these are the two main driving forces that have turned the ape brain into the human brain. These are also the two factors that create the formation of human consciousness.

The role of labor in the formation of consciousness

– The difference between man and animals (the architect and the bee, the weaver and the spider) is that first

When working to make a product, people must visualize the model of what needs to be made and how to make it based on mobilizing all of their knowledge and intellectual capacity into it. People are conscious of what they will make.

– In labor, people must create and use labor tools, perform labor operations and actions (how to make things) to impact the labor object to make products. Human consciousness is formed and expressed in the labor process.

– At the end of the labor process, people consciously compare the product with the psychological model of the product that they have imagined in advance to perfect and evaluate that product. Thus, it can be said that consciousness is formed and expressed throughout the labor process of people, unified with the labor process and the labor product they create.

The role of language and communication in the formation of consciousness

– Thanks to the language that was born with labor, people have the tools to build and visualize the psychological model of the product (what and how to make that product). Language activities (the second signal system) help people be aware of using labor tools, carrying out a system of labor operations to make products. Language also helps people analyze, compare, and evaluate the products they make.

– Labor activities are collective and social activities. In labor, through language and communication, people inform and exchange information with each other, coordinate movements with each other to create common products. Thanks to language and communication, people have awareness of themselves, awareness of others (knowing oneself, knowing others) in common activities.

b) The formation of individual consciousness and self-consciousness

* Individual consciousness is formed in activities and expressed in the products of individual activities. As mentioned above, in activities, individuals bring their experience, latent neuromuscular capacity, interests, aspirations, etc. to express in the process of making products. In the products of "residual" activities, there is contained the psychological and conscious aspects of the individual. Through diverse and rich activities in practical life, individuals form and develop their psychology and consciousness.

* Individual consciousness is formed in the individual's communication relationship with others and with society.

In communication, people compare themselves with others, with social ethical standards to have awareness of others and awareness of themselves. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote: "The development of an individual depends on the development of many other individuals with whom it has communicated directly or indirectly."

* Individual consciousness is formed through the absorption of social culture and social consciousness.

Through various forms of activities, through teaching, education and communication in social relations, individuals absorb and comprehend social norms and social value orientations to form personal consciousness.

* Individual consciousness is formed through self-awareness, self-assessment, and self-analysis of one's own behavior. In the process of activities and communication in society, individuals form their own consciousness (ego consciousness - self-consciousness). On the basis of comparing themselves with others and with social norms, individuals educate and perfect themselves.

3.2.3. Levels of consciousness

Based on self-awareness, clarity, and scope of psychology, people divide human psychological phenomena into 3 levels:

– Unconscious level.

– Level of consciousness and self-consciousness

– Level of group consciousness and collective consciousness.

a) Unconscious level

In life, along with conscious psychological phenomena, we often encounter unconscious psychological phenomena that control human activities. For example: sleepwalkers walking on the roof while sleeping, drunk people saying things unconsciously (not consciously). This "unconscious" psychological phenomenon is different from the word "unconscious" (unconscious organization, unconscious collective, which we still use every day). Here, the unconscious person shows a lack of respect for the organization, respect for discipline, and common regulations of the collective, he is very conscious of his wrongdoings. Unconscious psychological phenomena, not yet aware, are called unconscious in psychology.

The unconscious is a psychological phenomenon at the unconscious level, where consciousness does not perform its function. The unconscious includes many different psychological phenomena of the (not yet) conscious level:

– The unconscious instinct level (nutritional, self-defense, sexual instincts) is latent at a deep level, below consciousness, and is innate and hereditary.

– The unconscious also includes psychological phenomena below the threshold of consciousness (below consciousness or above consciousness).

For example, sometimes we feel like something, but we don't understand why. Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don't like it. When the conditions are right, we express our liking, when the conditions are not right, we don't.

– Mental state phenomenon: a psychological phenomenon below consciousness, the psychological direction is ready to wait and receive something, affecting the flexibility and stability of activities. Sometimes the developing mental state penetrates the conscious level. For example: the loving state of a young couple who are in love with each other, the resting state of an elderly person.

– There are types of psychological phenomena that are conscious but due to repeated repetition become sub-conscious. For example, some human skills and habits are practiced to a certain degree, becoming “subconscious”, a deep latent form of consciousness. The subconscious constantly directs the actions, words, thoughts… of a person to the point where there is no need for conscious participation.

b) Level of consciousness, self-consciousness

– At the conscious level, as mentioned above, people perceive, show intentional attitudes and anticipate their behavior, making the behavior conscious. Consciousness is expressed in will and attention (will be presented in the following section).

– Self-awareness is a highly developed level of consciousness. Self-awareness begins to form from the age of three. Usually self-awareness manifests itself in the following aspects:

+ Individuals perceive themselves from the outside to the content of the soul to position and social relationships.

+ Have an attitude towards yourself, self-criticism, self-evaluation.

+ Self-regulation, self-control of behavior according to voluntary goals.

+ Ability to self-educate and self-improve.

c) Level of group consciousness and collective consciousness

In the relationship of communication and activities, the individual's consciousness will gradually develop to the level of social consciousness, group consciousness, collective consciousness (For example: family consciousness, clan consciousness, ethnic consciousness, professional consciousness...). In life, when people act and operate with community consciousness, collective consciousness, each person can have new spiritual strength that he never had when he only operated with individual consciousness.

In short, different levels of consciousness always interact, transform and complement each other, increasing the diversity and strength of consciousness. Consciousness is unified with activity, formed, developed and expressed in activity. Consciousness governs, controls and regulates activity, making activity conscious.

3.2.4. Attention – the condition of conscious activity

a) What is attention? Attention is the concentration of consciousness on one or a group of objects and phenomena, to orient activities, ensuring the necessary neurological and psychological conditions for the activity to proceed effectively.

Attention is considered a psychological state that “accompanies” other psychological activities, helping those psychological activities to have results, for example, we often say: looking attentively, listening attentively, concentrating on thinking… The phenomena of attention are concentrated… are manifestations of attention. Attention has no separate object, its object is the object of the psychological activity that it “accompanies”. Therefore, intention is considered the “background”, “background”, the condition of conscious activity.

b) Types of attention: There are three types of attention: involuntary attention, intentional attention, and “post-intentional” attention.

* Involuntary attention is a type of attention that has no conscious purpose and does not require personal effort. Involuntary attention is mainly caused by external influences, depending on the characteristics of the stimulus such as:

– Novelty of the stimulus.

– Stimulus intensity.

– The contrast between the stimulus and the context…

This type of attention is often gentle, less stressful but less sustainable, difficult to maintain in the long term.

* Intentional attention is the type of attention that has a predetermined purpose and requires personal effort.

Intentional attention is closely related to the activity of the second signal system, to the individual's will, emotions, and tendencies.

The two types of attention mentioned above are closely related, complementing and transforming each other, helping people to reflect on the object effectively.

* Attention “after intention” . This type of attention is originally intentional attention, but does not require the tension of the will, attracting people to the content and method of activity to the point of pleasure, bringing high efficiency of attention. For example, when starting to read a book, it requires intentional attention, but the more we read, the more we are attracted by the attractive content of the book, making ourselves absorbed in reading, without requiring high effort, tension of the will. Thus, intentional attention has changed to “after intention”.

c) Basic properties of attention

* Concentration of attention : is the ability to pay attention to a relatively narrow range of objects necessary for the activity at that time. The number of objects that attention is directed towards is called the amount of attention. This amount depends on the characteristics of the object, as well as on the task and characteristics of the activity. There are cases where due to illness or being too absorbed in focusing attention on a certain object, "forgetting everything else" is a phenomenon of absent-mindedness.

* Sustainability of attention : it is the ability to maintain long-term attention to one or several objects of activity.

The opposite of stability is attentional dispersion. Attentional dispersion occurs in cycles called attentional oscillations.

* Distribution of attention : is the ability to pay full attention to many different objects or activities at the same time in a purposeful manner. In fact, it has been proven that attention is only focused on a few main objects while other objects only require a certain minimum attention.

* Attention shifting : is the ability to shift attention from one object to another as required by the activity. Attention shifting does not contradict the stability of attention, nor is it a distraction. Attention shifting is a conscious replacement of attention.

The above are the basic properties of attention, they are complementary to each other. Whether each property of attention can play a positive role or not depends on whether we know how to use each property or combine properties according to the requirements of the activity.

FURTHER READING

1. Pham Minh Hac (editor-in-chief), Psychology, volume I, Education Publishing House, 1988 (Chapter II: "Activities, communication, psychology, consciousness" from pages 69 to 86).

2. Nguyen Quang Uan (editor-in-chief), General Psychology, Hanoi National University Publishing House, 1996 (Chapter III: Formation and development of psychology and consciousness", from page 56 to page 72).

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. How is human psychology formed and developed in terms of both humanity and individual?

2. What is consciousness? How is consciousness formed and developed? Distinguish between consciousness and unconsciousness.

3. Why is attention said to be a condition of conscious activity?

Discussion : Psychology, consciousness are formed and developed in activities.


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EXERCISE

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter III. FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND CONSCIOUSNESS

EXERCISE 1. There are different opinions on which student is considered to have paid more attention?

Some people think that if a student is not attracted to talking or strange noises, then of course he is paying attention to his studies. Others think that an attentive person is someone who, while talking, still looks and listens to everything that happens around him. Others think that attention is the ability to immediately recognize in a flash many details in the learning material placed in front of him.

Which property of attention does each of the above cases refer to?

EXERCISE 2. The classroom was noisy, the students were not listening to the teacher. Suddenly the teacher held up a large picture. Immediately the students became quiet, but after 2-3 minutes they became disorderly again. Then the teacher started asking questions about the picture. The classroom became quiet again.

What kind of attention did the students arouse in the first case and in the second case? Why?

EXERCISE 3. A student tells how hard he tried to pay attention in class.

“I want to understand geometry,” he said, “but it is difficult for me. While listening to the teacher, I sometimes find that my thoughts are wandering somewhere else. Then I tell myself that I need to pay attention to what the teacher is saying, because studying at home is much more difficult. I repeat the teacher's every word and that way I maintain my attention.”

a) What conditions attract students' intentional attention (as shown in the lesson above)?

b) Based on what signs can we determine that students have intentional attention?

EXERCISE 4. Explain the physiological mechanism of the following phenomena. What are these phenomena called?

a) The math teacher attracted the students' attention so strongly that none of them heard the bell signaling the end of class!

b) Musician Beethoven once went to a restaurant, while waiting for the waiter, he was inspired, he quickly opened his notebook and wrote down the notes. After composing, he asked to pay for his meal, and left the restaurant "full", although his stomach was empty!

c) Newton had a habit of cooking his own breakfast. Once, while he was lost in thought, he boiled a clock in a pot, while still holding a raw egg!


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Chapter IV. COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES


GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Cognition is one of the three basic aspects of human psychological life (cognition, emotion and action). It is the premise of the other two aspects and at the same time has a close relationship with them and with other psychological phenomena.

Cognitive activity includes many processes of reflecting objective reality at different levels: sensation, perception, thinking, imagination... These processes give us different products: images, symbols, concepts. In general, all cognitive activities can be divided into two major stages: sensory perception (sensation and perception) and rational perception (thinking and imagination). In human cognitive activity, these two stages are closely related and influence each other. VI Lenin summarized the law of cognitive activity in general as follows: "From vivid intuition to abstract thinking and from abstract thinking to practice - that is the dialectical path of the cognition of truth, of the cognition of objective reality".


4.1. SENSORY PERCEPTION

4.2. RATIONAL AND PRACTICAL PERCEPTION


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4.1. SENSORY PERCEPTION

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter IV. COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

4.1.1. Concept of sensation and perception

In the process of evolution of living things (phylogeny) and in the process of development of a child (individualization), sensation is the first form of orientation of the body in the surrounding world. There are animals that can only reflect the individual attributes that have direct biological significance of things and phenomena. The same is true of children in the first weeks. That is to say, sensation is the initial form in the development of cognitive activity.

Sensation is a cognitive process that individually reflects each attribute of an object or phenomenon when it directly affects our senses.

Feelings have the following characteristics:

– Is a cognitive process (with arising, development and ending) whose stimulus is the things and phenomena themselves in objective reality.

– Only reflects each attribute of an object or phenomenon individually. This characteristic shows that sensation is the lowest level of cognition.

– Reflecting objective reality directly, meaning that objects and phenomena must directly affect our senses. This characteristic also shows the low level of sensation in particular and sensory perception in general in reflecting objective reality.

Like other psychological phenomena, human feelings have a social nature, expressed in the following points:

– The objects of reflection of human sensation are not only natural phenomena, but also include products created by human labor.

– The physiological mechanism of sensation in humans is not limited to the first signal system, but also to the second signal system.

– Human sensations are strongly developed and enriched under the influence of activity and education (for example, a weaver can distinguish up to 60 different shades of black).

To reflect things and phenomena in a holistic way, individual sensations, brought about by the activities of each individual analytical organ, are synthesized in the cerebral cortex and give people a complete, whole image of things and phenomena. Those are images of perception.

Perception is a cognitive process that fully reflects the properties of objects and phenomena when they directly affect our senses.

Perception has the following basic characteristics:

– It is also a cognitive process, also reflecting objective reality directly.

– But reflecting things and phenomena completely: perception gives us complete images of things and phenomena. Although the drawings are incomplete, looking at the pictures we perceive them as a circle, a triangle, not a collection of simple lines or dots (Figure 1).

Figure 1

The completeness of perception is determined by the objective completeness of the object and phenomenon itself. Based on our experience and understanding, we only need to perceive some individual components of the object or phenomenon to synthesize those individual components and create a complete image of the object or phenomenon. This synthesis is carried out on the basis of the coordinated activities of many analytical organs.

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