Individual differences in perception in psychology. Individual differences in perception. Development of perception. Synthetic type of perception

Objective reality is influenced by knowledge, interests, emotions, habitual attitudes, etc. If we proceed from the fact that people differ in their attitudes and interests, in their characteristics, then there are individual differences in perception.

Despite the fact that these differences in perception are quite large, nevertheless, certain types of these differences stand out. They will be characteristic for a whole group of people, and not for one particular person.

First of all, these include the differences between synthetic and analytical perception. Individual differences in perception are shown in the diagram.

Synthetic type of perception

The synthetic type of perception is characterized by the fact that people who are inclined to it, the general impression of the object, the general features of what is perceived are most vividly presented. A person with a synthetic type of perception pays the least attention to details and details, does not highlight them on purpose, so many details remain unnoticed. Representatives of this type of perception grasp the meaning of the whole rather than the detailed content, for the perception of which they need to set a special task.

People of this kind are able to distinguish the main thing from everything that surrounds them; they, with a unique ability, separate the main from the private. They easily prioritize important and non-important matters, plan their activities according to internal regulations... Lack of attention to "little things" can lead to the fact that the missing details could be useful in business practice or everyday life.

For example, if a teacher belongs to this type of perception, then the student's characteristics will be very generalized - "disciplined, executive, conscientious", or "loose, ill-mannered", while due attention to the analysis of the causes of actions is not shown. The general opinion about the student will be strong, and his actions will cease to be significant.

Analytical type of perception

The analytical type of perception, or detailing, is the opposite of the synthetic type of perception. People of this type tend to clearly highlight details and details, their perception is aimed precisely at this. The general meaning of what they perceived fades into the background, and sometimes is not noticed at all.

As in the first type, they need to set themselves a special task in order to understand the essence of the phenomenon or adequately perceive any object. The stories of such people, as a rule, are filled with great details, behind which the meaning of the whole is often lost.

These two types of perception are characteristic of the extreme poles, most often they complement each other. Their extreme options cannot be considered negative, because they determine the originality of perception that gives a person the opportunity to be an extraordinary person.

Other types of perception

Other types of perception include, for example:

• Descriptive and explanatory. Persons of a descriptive type are limited to the factual side of what they see and hear and do not try to explain to themselves the essence of the perceived phenomenon. The driving forces of people's actions remain outside the field of their attention. People of the explanatory type, on the contrary, are not satisfied with what is given in perception. They need to explain what they saw and heard. Most often, this type of behavior is combined with a holistic or synthetic type of perception;
• Objective and subjective type of perception. For the objective type, it is important to strictly correspond to what is happening in reality. Representatives of the subjective type bring in a lot from themselves and go beyond what is actually given. Most often, they convey not what they perceived, but their subjective impressions.

Among individual differences in perception, differences in observation play an important role.

Observation

Observation is understood as the ability to notice in objects and phenomena that which is little noticeable in them and does not strike the eye by itself. A sign of observation is the speed of perception of something subtle. This skill is not typical for all people and to varying degrees.

Basically, the differences in observation depend on the individual abilities of the person. It is she who is the factor that contributes to her own development.

There are differences in perception in terms of the degree of intentionality:

• Intentional - voluntary perception. From the very beginning, it is regulated by the task - to perceive this or that object, to become familiar with it. It can be included in some activity and carried out in the course of its implementation, but it can also act as an independent activity;
• Unintentional or involuntary perception. With this perception, a person is not guided by a predetermined goal to perceive the given object. Perception is directed by external circumstances.

Like perception, observation is not an innate characteristic. A newborn child cannot perceive the world around him in the form of a whole objective picture. This ability appears much later.

Signs of object perception in a child, according to B.M. Teplova, begin to appear in early infancy - actions with objects begin to form. At 5-6 months, the fixation of the gaze on the subject begins.

Under the influence of play activity by preschool age, children develop complex types of visual analysis and synthesis. They include the ability, perceived in the visual field, an object, to dismember into parts and combine it into a whole.

The condition for the development of perception is labor, both physical and mental. It is equally important for the child to participate in the game, during which he expands the motor experience and the idea of ​​the objects around him.

Perception of time is a great difficulty for a child - it is difficult for him to master such concepts as "tomorrow", "yesterday", "earlier", "later".

The perception of images of objects also causes certain difficulties. Talking about what is in the picture, preschoolers make mistakes in recognizing the objects depicted, relying on some random signs. Of course, lack of knowledge and small practical experience play an important role in this. Over time, these problems are eliminated, and the perception of a senior student practically does not differ from the perception of an adult.

In perception, the individual characteristics of people are manifested, which are explained by the entire history of the formation of each personality and the nature of its activity. First of all, there are two types of perception: analytical and synthetic.

For people analytical type of perception attention to particulars, details, individual signs of an object or phenomenon is characteristic. Only then do they move on to identifying common points. For people synthetic type of perception attention to the whole, that is, the main thing in an object or phenomenon, is characteristic, sometimes to the detriment of the perception of particular signs. If people of the first type are more attentive to facts, then people of the second type are more attentive to their meaning.

However, a lot depends on knowledge about the object and the goal facing the person. The type of perception is less revealed in involuntary perception and in those cases when a person is faced with the goal of comparing two objects. Psychological research by identifying the types of perception, they convincingly showed that some subjects predominantly single out the "absolute" properties of objects, while others predominantly identify the relationship between these properties. The first is characteristic of the analytical type, the second - for the synthetic.

Perception is influenced by the feelings experienced by a person. People who are characterized by increased emotionality and impressionability are much more likely to see objective factors in the light of their personal experiences, likes and dislikes. Thus, in the description and assessment of objective facts, they unwittingly bring a touch of subjectivity. Such people are attributed to the subjective type of perception, in contrast to the objective type, which is characterized by greater accuracy in relationships and assessments.

Attention

Attention they call the direction and concentration of consciousness on certain objects or certain activities while being distracted from everything else.

Attention is necessary in perception, in thinking, and in action. For example, you can carefully consider a picture, listen to a lecture, solve a math problem, perform the necessary movements when writing, drawing, sculpting, etc.

A person is constantly exposed to many different stimuli. Human consciousness is not able to grasp simultaneously with sufficient clarity all these objects. Therefore, on the one hand, from the multitude of surrounding objects, objects and phenomena, a person selects those that are of interest to him, correspond to his needs and life plans. On the other hand, at any given moment, the content of mental activity is associated with a relatively small number of phenomena or actions. So, out of a large number of stimuli acting on a person at a given moment, he perceives not everything, but only a small number. Perceiving one stimulus with attention, he at the same time does not perceive at all or perceives unclearly the rest, which are not related to his activity at the moment.

With attention, mental activity becomes more organized. Thus, perception due to attention is always distinguished by an orderly character: we perceive only what is relevant to the task that stands before us, we are not distracted by side stimuli, thanks to which we perceive objects and phenomena with greater clarity. With auditory perception, thanks to attention, we notice the slightest sounds, and exactly those that need to be heard, while being distracted from extraneous sounds. When the doctor listens carefully to the patient, he hears a lot of sounds and accurately distinguishes them, separating the sounds of the right ventricle of the heart from the sounds emanating from the valves of the left, etc.

Attention is also of organizing importance in the processes of thinking. When thinking is accompanied by focused attention, it proceeds more orderly: thoughts go in a certain sequence, each thought naturally follows from another thought, they are linked to each other according to essential features, thinking acquires a harmonious character. With a weakening of attention, thinking becomes disorganized: the course of thought processes is characterized by a lack of harmony, frequent distractions of thought are observed, random connections are established based on insignificant signs, etc. randomly, replace each other by purely mechanical associative links, unplanned, disordered.

Outwardly, attention is expressed in movements with the help of which we adapt to better performance of the required actions. At the same time, unnecessary movements that interfere with this activity are inhibited. So, if we need to carefully consider an object, we turn our head in its direction. This adaptive movement facilitates perception. When we listen to something with attention, we also tilt our head accordingly. Due to the presence of such adaptive movements, one can judge the attention of a person by his appearance; we can say that this person thinks attentively, he listens attentively, the third looks attentively, the fourth works attentively, etc.

Thus, attention increases the effectiveness of any mental and motor activity. It is expressed primarily in a clearer and more distinct course of mental processes and in the exact execution of the actions associated with it. With careful perception, the resulting images are more clear and distinct. In the presence of attention, the processes of thinking, analysis, generalization proceed quickly and correctly. In actions that are accompanied by attention, movements are performed accurately and clearly. This clarity and distinctness is achieved by the fact that in the presence of attention, mental activity proceeds with greater intensity than in its absence.

It can be stated that there is always attention concentration mental activity on certain objects and at the same time abstraction from other objects. Therefore, it can be said that attention has selective character: we choose from a large number of objects some on which our mental activity is focused. Due to this, with attention, a certain focus activities.

It is known that if a person does not mobilize his attention, then mistakes are inevitable in his work, and inaccuracies and gaps in perception. Without focusing our attention, we can:

o look and not see,

o listen and not hear,

o eat and not taste.

Attention is of great importance to a person because:

1. Attention organizes the human psyche for all the variety of sensations.

2.Connected with attention orientation and selectivity of cognitive processes.

3. Attention determines:

o accuracy and detail of perception(attention is a kind of amplifier that allows you to distinguish the details of the image);

o strength and selectivity of memory(attention acts as a factor contributing to the preservation of the necessary information in short-term and operative memory);

o focus and productivity of thinking ( attention acts as an indispensable factor in the correct understanding and solution of the problem).

4. In the system of interpersonal relations attention promotes better mutual understanding, adaptation of people to each other, prevention and timely resolution of interpersonal conflicts. An attentive person achieves more in life than an inattentive person.

Main functions attention in sensory, mnemonic and thought processes, as well as in the system of interpersonal relations are the following:

a) selection of relevant (i.e. corresponding to the needs of this activity) impacts and ignoring others - insignificant, side, competing;

b) retention of this activity , preservation of images of a certain content in the mind until the completion of the activity, achievement of the set goal;

v) regulation and control for the course of activity.

Attention is inextricably linked to consciousness generally. This connection is revealed in the most famous psychological theories of attention.

Properties of attention.

Considering the properties of attention, we note that basic properties of attention are: concentration, stability, volume, distribution, switchability .

Focused attention- this is keeping your attention on one object or some actions while distracting from everything else. Concentration of attention depends on age and work experience (it slightly increases over the years), as well as on the state of the nervous system (with a slight neuropsychic tension, it slightly increases, and with a high one, it decreases).

Focused is called attention directed to any one object or type of action. For example, a person can concentrate on writing, listening, reading, doing some kind of work, following the progress of a sports competition, etc.

In all these cases, his attention is focused only on one given type of activity and does not extend to others: when we read with concentration, we do not notice what is happening around us and often do not even hear the questions addressed to us.

Focused attention is characterized by pronounced external signs. It is expressed in the appropriate posture, facial expressions, inhibition of all unnecessary movements. All these external features are of great adaptive value, facilitating concentration of attention.

Focused attention is distinguished by a high degree of intensity, which makes it a prerequisite for the success of individual activities that are important for a person: focused attention is necessary for a student in a lesson, an athlete at the start, a surgeon during an operation, etc., since only with focused attention these types activities can be completed successfully.

Indicator focus, or concentration, attention is its noise immunity, determined by the strength of an extraneous stimulus that can divert attention from the object of activity. The more focused the attention, the higher the prerequisite for a more accurate and successful implementation activity, and therefore less fatigue.

The opposite of concentration is such a property of attention as absent-mindedness. Psychologists distinguish ordinary absent-mindedness (a state of attention when it does not focus on one object, but involuntarily passes to others) and imaginary, or "professorial" (manifests itself in deep concentration on one thing, when a person does not notice anything else).

Stability of attention - it is the duration of focusing on an object or phenomenon or the retention of the required intensity of attention for a long time . Stability of attention is determined by various reasons:

First, the individual physiological characteristics of the organism. The properties of the nervous system and the general state of the body at a given time are especially influenced.

Secondly, the mental state (agitation, lethargy, etc.);

Thirdly, motivation (the presence or absence of interest in the subject of activity, its significance for the individual);

Fourth, external circumstances in the implementation of activities.

The stability of attention is explained by the presence of dynamic stereotypes of nervous processes developed in the process of practice, thanks to which this activity can be performed easily and naturally. When such dynamic stereotypes are not developed, nervous processes irradiate unnecessarily, capture unnecessary parts of the cortex, intercentral connections are difficult to establish, there is no ease of switching from one activity element to another, etc.

The stability of attention is increased by observing: a) optimal pace of work: if the pace is too slow or too fast, the stability of attention is impaired; b) optimal amount of work; with an excessive amount of assigned work, attention often becomes unstable; v) variety of work; the monotonous, monotonous nature of the work has a detrimental effect on the stability of attention; on the contrary, attention becomes stable when the work includes various types of activities, when the studied subject is considered and discussed from different angles.

Thus, steadiness attention is manifested in the time during which a person can be continuously focused on one object. The longer this time, the more stable the attention. But even with steady attention, its direction can change for a short time, involuntarily and periodically. This phenomenon is called hesitation attention. Stability of attention on the objects of any activity is the most important condition for high performance in it. Attention will be more stable in the absence of distracting strong extraneous stimuli: sound, optical, etc. Stability of attention falls when deviating from the pace and volume of work that is optimal for a particular person. It will be most stable when not only physical work is performed with the object of attention, but also work that requires creative thinking. The richer in content the object and the more intellectual actions a person can perform with it, the more stable his attention on this object.

Distractibility attention is the opposite property of stability. In contrast to switching, performed intentionally and voluntarily, attention is always diverted involuntarily and more often - when exposed to strong extraneous stimuli (noise in the room, pain, strong odors, unexpected change of scenery, etc.). Most people, naturally, like to work in a relaxed atmosphere, when nothing distracts them from their work, but a person must accustom himself to work in any conditions, even when something interferes with him.

Considering the properties of attention, it is also necessary to dwell on such important characteristics as intensity and hesitation attention, which affect the effectiveness of activities .

Attention intensity characterized by a relatively higher expenditure of nervous energy to perform this type of activity , in this connection, the mental processes involved in this activity proceed with greater clarity, precision and speed.

Attention in the process of performing a particular activity can be manifested with different strengths. In any work, a person has moments of very tense, intense attention and moments of weakened attention. So, in a state of great fatigue, a person is not capable of intense attention, cannot concentrate on the activity being performed, since his nervous system is very tired of the previous work, which is accompanied by an increase in inhibitory processes in the cortex and the appearance of drowsiness as protective inhibition.

The intensity of attention is expressed in a great concentration on this type of work and allows you to achieve a better quality of the actions performed. On the contrary, a decrease in the intensity of attention is accompanied by a deterioration in the quality and a decrease in the amount of work.

Fluctuation of attention expressed in the periodic change of objects to which it addresses.

Fluctuations of attention should be distinguished from an increase or decrease in the intensity of attention, when in certain periods of time it is sometimes more or less intense. Fluctuations of attention are observed even with the most focused and stable attention. They are expressed in the fact that, with all its stability and focus on this activity, attention at some certain moments passes from one object to another in order to return to the first one after a certain period of time.

The periodicity of fluctuations in attention can be well shown in experiments with dual images (Figure 3.26).

In this figure, two figures are depicted simultaneously: a truncated pyramid facing the viewer with its top, and a long corridor with an exit at the end. If we look at this drawing with intense attention, we will successively, at regular intervals, see either a truncated pyramid or a long corridor. This change of objects will occur flawlessly at certain, approximately equal intervals of time. This phenomenon is the hesitation of attention.

At any given moment, many mental processes take place in a person's consciousness, differing from each other in the degree of their clarity. In addition to the distinct images of objects to which our attention is drawn, it contains vague, sometimes the most vague representations or experiences associated with stimuli that are not currently being paid attention to. For example, when a student listens attentively to a lecture, he clearly and distinctly perceive the lecturer's speech. In addition, at any given moment, the human consciousness will also reflect another environment in which the lecture is taking place: the view of the audience, the faces of the teacher and other students listening and recording the lecture, sun glare on the floor, etc. All these additional perceptions, of course, not as clear as the perception of the lecturer's words, but they are still present in the mind while listening to the lecture. We can note the presence in the mind of even less clear ideas associated, for example, with the events preceding the lecture. Even with the most intense attention, this content of consciousness and the ratio of its individual elements will constantly change: the words of the lecturer, on which attention has just been focused, will at some point be perceived vaguely and vaguely, and the perception of the environment or ideas about the things to come after the lecture clearly emerge in consciousness.

Fluctuation of attention is explained by the fatigue of the nerve centers in the process of activities performed with intense attention. The activity of certain nerve centers cannot continue without interruption with high intensity. With strenuous work, the corresponding nerve cells are quickly depleted and need to restore the spent substances. Protective inhibition sets in, as a result of which the excitatory process in these newly intensively working cells weakens, while excitation in those centers that were previously inhibited increases, and attention is diverted to extraneous stimuli associated with these centers. But since during work there is an orientation to the long-term preservation of attention on this particular activity, and not on another activity, we overcome these distractions as soon as the main centers associated with the work being performed restore their supply of energy.

Attention volume characterized by the number of objects or their elements that can be simultaneously perceived with the same degree of clarity and distinctness at one moment.

In any practical activity, a person's attention is rarely drawn to any one element. Even when it is addressed to one but complex subject, there are a number of elements in this subject. With a single perception of such an object, one person can see more and the other less elements.

The more objects or their elements are perceived at one moment, the greater the amount of attention; the fewer such objects a person grasps in one act of perception, the less attention is and the less effective the activity will be.

In this case, “moment” is understood as such a short period of time during which a person can perceive the objects presented to him only once, without having time to transfer his gaze from one object to another. The duration of such a period of time is approximately 0.07 seconds.

With the help of a special device - a tachistoscope - it is possible to present to the subject for 0.07 sec. a table with twelve different figures, letters, words, objects, etc. drawn on it. During this short period of time, the subject will have time to see clearly only some of them. The number of objects correctly perceived in these conditions (instantaneous perception) characterizes the amount of attention.

There are two types of attention span - with simultaneous and sequential presentation of stimuli. In the first case, this is the maximum number of objects that can be consciously perceived in a moment of time (more often in 0.1 s) with their simultaneous presentation, and in the second case - with sequential presentation for 1–2 s.

Nevertheless, it is believed that the numerical characteristic of the average attention span is 5 ± 2 units of information in children and 7 ± 2 in adults.

The scope of attention can be expanded by carefully studying objects and the situation in which they have to be perceived. When the activity takes place in a familiar environment, the attention span increases and the person notices more elements than when he has to act in an unclear or poorly understood situation. The amount of attention of an experienced person who knows this business will be greater than the amount of attention of an inexperienced person who does not know this business.

An increase in the amount of attention can be achieved in the process of his education by understanding this activity and accumulating knowledge related to it. At the same time, training in this type of activity is of great importance, during which the process of perception is improved and a person learns to perceive individual elements of complex objects and situations not in isolation, but grouping them according to essential connections.

Thus, the greater the amount of attention, the more sensory information the human brain receives per unit of time, which means that it has a richer sensory base for its logical processing.

Distribution of attention- this is the ability of an individual to simultaneously perform two or more types of activities. This does not mean that these activities are literally performed in parallel. This impression is created due to the ability of a person to quickly switch from one type of activity to another, having time to return "to the interrupted action" before forgetting occurs.

The distribution of attention depends on the psychological and physiological state of the person. When tired (in progress complex species activities requiring increased concentration of attention), the area of ​​its distribution is significantly narrowed.

Hence, distributed is called attention directed simultaneously to several objects or activities.

For example, we can talk about distributed attention, when a student listens and simultaneously records a lecture, when the teacher during the lecture watches not just one, but all the students in his field of vision and notices whether all of them have time to write down the material. attention is also manifested when the driver drives a car and at the same time closely monitors all obstacles in his path: the road, the side of the road, other cars, etc. several dissimilar objects or actions.

With distributed attention, each of the types of activity covered by it proceeds with a relatively lower intensity of attention than when it is focused on only one object or action. However, in general, distributed attention requires much more effort and expenditure of nervous energy from a person than focused attention.

Distributed attention is a prerequisite for the successful execution of many complex activities that, by their very structure, require the simultaneous participation of heterogeneous functions or operations.

Switching attention- this is the ability to quickly switch off from some types of activity and to be included in new types of activity corresponding to the changed conditions. A similar process can be carried out both on involuntary , and on arbitrary basis.

Involuntary switching of attention may indicate its instability. However, this is not always a negative quality, since it contributes to the temporary rest of the body and the analyzer, the preservation and restoration of the nervous system and the working capacity of the organism as a whole. its elements to others.

The switchability of attention depends on the mobility of the nervous system, and, therefore, it is higher in younger people. In a state of neuropsychic stress, this indicator decreases due to an increase in stability and concentration.

The ability to shift attention is highly dependent on temperament. A sanguine person, for example, easily and quickly switches attention from one object to another, a phlegmatic person - without difficulty, but slowly, a choleric person can switch attention with difficulty, but if he transfers it, then quickly. The melancholic has a need for relatively frequent switching of attention due to increased fatigue from monotonous mental activity. It is easy to switch attention from a less interesting object to a more interesting one, from a less significant to a more significant one, from a difficult case to an easier one, from the known to the unknown. V reverse direction attention switches with difficulty and more slowly, but it also depends on the volitional characteristics of a person, his training in performing this action.

Kinds of attention.

Depending on from personality activity allocate : involuntary, voluntary and post-voluntary (post-voluntary) attention.

Involuntary (unintentional) attention arises without the intention of a person to see or hear anything, without a predetermined goal, without efforts of will.

Involuntary attention is caused by external causes - various features of the objects acting on a person at a given moment. The features due to which external objects can attract our attention are as follows.

The intensity of the stimulus. An object that is stronger than another that simultaneously acts on the body (stronger sound, brighter light, sharper smell, etc.) is more likely to attract attention. However, objects retain this property only as long as a person is not accustomed to a given degree of intensity. Even very strong stimuli, if they have become habitual, cease to attract attention.

The novelty, uncommonness of objects. Sometimes even objects that do not stand out in their intensity attract attention to themselves, if only they are new to us; for example, some changes in the familiar environment, the appearance of a new face in the audience or company, etc.

Abrupt change, and dynamism objects. This is often observed during complex and long-term actions, for example, when observing a sports competition, perceiving a motion picture, etc. In these cases, a violation of the relatively calm flow of stimuli due to a sudden increase or decrease in individual stimuli, the introduction of a pause or a change in the rhythm and tempo of movements involuntarily attracts attention.

Knowing the characteristics of the stimuli, thanks to which they are able to attract attention, you can easily cause unintended attention from certain persons. For example, a loud voice, a clear command will draw the attention of students to the teacher's requirements, and a bright colorful poster will make them pay attention to its content.

Unintentional attention is characterized by the following main characteristics:

o In case of unintentional attention, a person does not first prepare for a given perception or action.

o Unintentional attention comes suddenly, immediately after the effect of irritation and in its intensity is determined by the characteristics of the irritations that caused it.

o Unintentional attention is transient: it lasts as long as the appropriate stimuli act, and, if the necessary measures are not taken to consolidate it in the form of intentional attention, it stops.

Arbitrary (intentional) attention active, purposeful concentration of consciousness, maintaining the level of which is associated with certain volitional efforts necessary to combat stronger influences. An irritant in this situation is a thought or order pronounced to oneself and causing a corresponding excitation in the cerebral cortex. Voluntary attention depends on the state of the nervous system (decreases in a frustrated, overly excited state) and is determined by motivational factors: the strength of the need, attitude to the object of cognition and attitude (unconscious readiness to perceive objects and phenomena of reality in a certain way). This type of attention is necessary for mastering skills, efficiency depends on it.

On this basis, voluntary attention is distinguished by the following characteristics:

o Purposefulness. Arbitrary attention is determined by the tasks that a person sets for himself in a particular activity. With deliberate attention, not all objects attract attention, but only those that stand in connection with the task being performed by a person at a given moment; from many objects, he selects those that are needed in this type of activity.

o Organization. With voluntary attention, a person prepares in advance to be attentive to one or another object, consciously directs his attention to this object, shows the ability to organize the mental processes necessary for this activity.

o Increased stability. Intentional attention allows you to organize work for a more or less long time, it is associated with the planning of this work.

These features of voluntary attention make him important factor the success of a particular activity.

So, voluntary attention requires significant energy consumption, and therefore, with a narrow focus on one, especially a low-content object, it tires a person faster than involuntary attention. Without voluntary attention, a person cannot act in a planned way and achieve the goals that he sets out.

Characteristic post-spontaneous attention is contained in its very name: it comes after the arbitrary, but qualitatively different from it. When the first positive results appear when solving a problem, interest arises, and activity is automated. Its implementation no longer requires special volitional efforts and is limited only by fatigue, although the purpose of the work remains. This type of attention is of great importance in educational and work activities.

Post-voluntary attention is focused, but does not require special volitional efforts. It possesses the stability of voluntary and energetic parsimony of involuntary attention. Post-voluntary attention is that involuntary attention that is "born" from previously organized voluntary attention. So, sometimes it is difficult to concentrate attention when reading a book, an article, but its content captured, carried away the reader, and he did not notice how voluntary attention turned into post-voluntary. This is the most productive type of attention, which is associated with the most effective intellectual and physical activity. If a person has post-voluntary attention, it is difficult for him to switch to another object.

By the nature of the direction allocate: outwardly directed and inner attention. Externally directed (perceptual) attention is directed to surrounding objects and phenomena, and internal - on their own thoughts and experiences.

By origin allocate: natural and socially conditioned attention. Natural attention - This is the innate ability of a person to selectively respond to certain external or internal stimuli that carry elements of informational novelty.

Socially conditioned Attention develops during the life of the subject (during his lifetime) as a result of training and education. It is associated with selective conscious response to objects, with volitional regulation of behavior .

By the mechanism of regulation allocate: direct and mediated attention.

Direct attention is not controlled by anything, except for the object to which it is directed and which corresponds to the actual interests and needs of a person.

Indirect attention regulated by special means, such as gestures.

By its focus on the object the following forms of attention are distinguished:

o sensory (aimed at perception),

o intellectual (aimed at thinking, memory work),

o motor (aimed at movement).

According to the dynamics of intensity distinguish between: static and dynamic attention.

Static is called such attention, the high intensity of which easily arises at the very beginning of the work and remains throughout the entire time of its execution. Such attention does not require special "acceleration", gradual accumulation; it is distinguished from the very beginning of work by the maximum degree of intensity. The student who is distinguished by static attention immediately becomes involved in educational work, as soon as the lesson has begun, and maintains more or less the same level of this intensity of attention throughout the work. Static attention is also characterized by easy switching to new types of work when moving, for example, from one material to another.

Dynamic attention is distinguished by opposite qualities; at the beginning of work, it is not intense; a person needs a certain effort in order to force himself to be attentive to this type of action; he slowly gets involved in work; the first minutes pass with him in constant distraction, and only gradually and with difficulty does he concentrate on work.

Difficulty switching from one type of work to another is also characteristic of dynamic attention. This is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that, with dynamic attention, the achieved degree of concentration in relation to this work remains for a long time, even when the time has come to switch to a new type of activity. On the other hand, this difficulty in switching is due to the fact that the transition to a new type of work again requires buildup, acceleration, and gradual entry into this work.

Dynamic attention usually associated with the inability to plan work and correctly distribute his forces: a person does not see the distant prospects of his work, does not clearly understand those operations, their volume and sequence that he must perform, does not know how to properly distribute his efforts.

So attention is the most general indicator activity of any of the cognitive mental processes and intellectual activity of a person as a whole. A temporary or long-term decrease in the stability of attention, a weakening of its concentration (ordinary absent-mindedness) and its other properties, first of all, indicate a person's intellectual or physical fatigue or a deterioration in his health.

The reasons for the decrease in various indicators of attention can be the following:

o a weak type of nervous system and associated increased fatigue (inherent in people with a melancholic temperament),

o exhaustion as a result of systematic physical and intellectual overload or systematic lack of sleep,

o various diseases,

o asthenic conditions,

o conflict situations ,

o disordered daily routine,

o distracting (noise) stimuli when doing work,

o lack of friendly attitude of family members to each other,

o addiction to alcoholic beverages, etc.

Violation of attention is also observed with organic lesions of the brain, primarily its frontal lobes.

Memory

Memory- This is a reflection of a person's past experience by remembering, preserving and reproducing. The importance of memory in human life was best described by the great psychologist S.L. Rubinstein. He wrote: “Without memory, we would be creatures of the moment. Our past would be dead to the future. The present, as it proceeds, would irrevocably disappear in the past. There would be no knowledge or skills based on the past. There would be no mental life. " Memory connects the subject's past with his present and future, is the most important mental process underlying the development, training, socialization of the individual, ensuring its unity and integrity.

There are two types of memory: genetic (hereditary) and mechanical (individual, acquired). Genetic memory- this is a memory that is stored in the genotype, transmitted and reproduced by inheritance, retains information that determines the anatomical and physiological structure of the body and innate forms of behavior (instincts). Mechanical memory- this is mechanical ability to learning, to the acquisition of some kind of experience, this is a reflection of the past experience gained from the moment a person was born by memorizing, preserving and reproducing at the necessary moment. This memory is accumulated, but not preserved, but disappears with the organism itself. The concept of "mechanical memory" means memory, which is based on repetition, without comprehending the actions performed and memorized material.

Many of the people complain about poor memory. However, the amount of human memory has no limits. Currently, it is believed that a person remembers all the information received, but retains only part of it in his consciousness.

The diagram below summarizes what memory includes (Figure 3.27).

Rice. 3.27. Types and processes of memory

Memory properties.

The most important properties of memory are: duration, speed (memorization and reproduction), accuracy, readiness, volume(Fig. 3.28) These characteristics determine how productive a person's memory is.

Rice. 3.28. Basic properties of memory

Volume- the ability to simultaneously store a certain amount of information. Average short-term memory - 7 + 2 different elements (units) of information.

The speed of memorization- differs in different people... The speed of memorization can be increased with the help of special memory training.

Accuracy- manifests itself in an adequate reproduction of facts and events that a person has encountered, as well as in an adequate reproduction of the content of information.

Duration- is determined by the time of saving the information. Also a very individual quality: some people may remember the faces and names of school friends many years later, some forget them after only a few months. Memory duration is selective.

Ready to play- the ability to quickly retrieve information from memory. It is thanks to this ability that we can effectively use the previously acquired experience.

There are different classifications of types of human memory:

1. on the participation of will in the process of memorization;

2. by mental activity, which prevails in the activity;

3. by the duration of the storage of information;

By the nature of the participation of will memory is divided into involuntary and voluntary.

Involuntary memory provides memorization and reproduction automatically, without any volitional effort.

Arbitrary memory implies cases when a goal is set - to remember, and volitional efforts are used to memorize.

It has been proven that one involuntarily memorizes material that is interesting to a person, which is of great importance to him.

By the nature of mental activity, with the help of which a person remembers information, memory is divided into motor, emotional (affective), figurative and verbal-logical.

In turn, figurative memory is divided according to the type of analyzers that are involved in memorizing impressions by a person. Figurative memory can be visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory.

Motor memory- memorization, preservation and reproduction of simple and complex movements. This memory is actively involved in the development of motor (labor, sports) abilities and skills. All manual movements of a person are associated with this type of memory.
This memory manifests itself in a person first of all and is extremely necessary for the normal development of the child.

Emotional memory- memory for emotions and feelings. This type of memory is especially manifested in human relationships. As a rule, what causes emotional experiences in a person is remembered by him without special labor and for a long time. As already mentioned, pleasant events are better remembered than unpleasant ones. This type of memory plays an important role in motivating a person, and begins to manifest itself from about 6 months.

Figurative memory associated with memorizing and reproducing sensory images of objects and phenomena, their properties and relationships between them. This memory begins to manifest itself at the age of two and reaches its highest point by adolescence. Images can be different: a person remembers both images of different objects and a general idea of ​​them with some kind of abstract content. Various analyzers help to memorize images. Different people have different analyzers more active.

Visual memory associated with the preservation and reproduction of visual images. People with advanced visual memory usually have a well-developed imagination and are able to "see" information, even when it no longer affects the senses. It is very important for people of some professions: artists, engineers, composers.

Auditory memory – it is good memorization and accurate reproduction of various sounds: speech, music. Such memory is especially necessary for musicians when studying foreign languages.

Tactile, olfactory and gustatory memory- memory for the corresponding images.

Eidetic memory- memory, characterized by the appearance of vivid and detailed visual images.

Verbal-logical memory- memory for words, thoughts and logical relationships. In this case, a person tries to understand the information being assimilated, to clarify the terminology, to establish all semantic connections, and only after that to remember the material. It is easier for people with developed verbal-logical memory to memorize verbal, abstract material, concepts, formulas. When trained, logical memory gives very good results and is much more effective than just rote memorization. It appears in a child as early as 3-4 years old, when the very foundations of logic begin to develop. Develops with teaching the child the basics of science.

By the duration of the storage of information allocate sensory, short-term, operational and long-term memory.

Sensory memory. This memory retains the material that has just been received by the senses, without any processing of information. The duration of this memory is from 0.1 to 0.5 s. Often in this case, a person memorizes information without conscious effort, even against his will. This memory is based on the inertia of sensations. This memory manifests itself in children even in preschool age, but over the years, its importance for humans increases.

Short-term memory. Provides information storage for a short period of time: about 20 seconds on average. This type of memory can function with a single or very brief perception. This memory also works without a conscious effort to memorize, but with a focus on future reproduction. The most essential elements of the perceived image are retained in memory. Short-term memory is "turned on" when the so-called actual consciousness of a person acts (that is, what is realized by a person at a given moment).

Information is entered into short-term memory by paying attention to the memorized object. For example, a person who has just looked at his watch may not answer the question of which numbers, Roman or Arabic, are depicted on the dial. He purposefully did not pay attention to it, and thus the information did not get into short-term memory.

The amount of short-term memory is very individual. Exists different methods its measurements. In this regard, it is necessary to say about such a feature of short-term memory as replacement property ... When the individual memory capacity becomes full, new information partially replaces what is stored there, and old information often disappears irrevocably. A good example it can be difficult to remember the abundance of names and surnames of people we have just met. A person is able to retain in short-term memory no more names than the volume of his memory allows.

By making a conscious effort, you can keep the material in short-term memory longer and ensure its translation into working memory. This is at the heart of memorization by repetition. At the same time, the necessary information is eliminated and what is potentially useful remains. Short-term memory organizes a person's thinking, since thinking "draws" information and facts from short-term and operative memory.

Operational memory - memory that retains information for a certain, predetermined period. The storage time of information ranges from a few seconds to several hours. For example, you are reading a long sentence and you need to remember the beginning of it while you read it to the end; then you can connect the idea at the beginning of the sentence with the one at the end. In this case, you are using RAM. After solving the problem, the information may disappear from the RAM. A good example would be information that the student is trying to remember during the exam: the time frame and the task are clearly defined. After passing the exam, there is again an inability to reproduce a significant part of the information on this issue... This type of memory is, as it were, transitional, from short-term to long-term, since it includes elements of both memory.

Long-term memory - memory capable of storing information for an unlimited time.

This memory does not begin to function immediately after the material has been memorized, but after some time. A person must switch from one process to another: from memorization to reproduction. These two processes are incompatible and their mechanisms are completely different.

It is interesting that the more often the information is reproduced, the more firmly it is fixed in the memory. In other words, a person can recall information at any necessary moment with the help of an effort of will. It is important to note that intelligence is not always a measure of memory quality. For example, mentally deficient people sometimes have phenomenal long-term memory.

Modern researchers distinguish the following types of memory.

Perception is a holistic reflection of objects, situations, phenomena arising from the direct influence of physical stimuli on the receptor surfaces of the sense organs. Perception makes possible a holistic reflection of the world, the creation of an integral picture of reality, in contrast to sensations that reflect individual qualities of reality.

The result of perception is an integral, holistic image of the surrounding world, arising from the direct influence of a stimulus on the subject's sense organs. It is a mistake to believe that perception is a simple summation of individual sensations. In addition to sensations, previous experience is involved in the process of perception, the processes of comprehending what is perceived, i.e. mental processes of an even higher level, such as memory and thinking, are included in the process of perception. Therefore, perception is very often called the human perceptual system.

The main properties of perception include the following: objectivity, integrity, structure, constancy, meaningfulness, apperception, activity.

The objectivity of perception is the ability to reflect objects and phenomena of the real world not in the form of a set of sensations not related to each other, but in the form of separate objects. Objectivity is not an innate property of perception, the emergence and improvement of this property occurs in the process of ontogenesis, starting from the first year of a child's life. The possibility of object perception is due to the presence of a motor component in the process of perception. So, hearing a sound or smelling, we make certain orienting movements in relation to the source of irritation.

Integrity is another property of perception. Unlike sensation, which reflects individual properties of an object, perception gives a holistic image of the object. It is formed on the basis of generalization of information received in the form of various sensations about individual properties and qualities of an object. The components of sensation are so firmly interconnected that a single complex image of an object arises even when only individual properties or separate parts of the object act directly on a person.

The integrity of perception is also associated with its structure. This property lies in the fact that perception in most cases is not a projection of our instantaneous sensations and is not a simple sum of them. We perceive a generalized structure that is actually abstracted from these sensations, which is formed over time. For example, if a person listens to a melody, then the previously heard notes still continue to sound in his mind when information about the sound of a new note arrives.

The next property of perception is constancy. Constancy is the relative constancy of certain properties of objects when the conditions of their perception change. For example, a truck moving in the distance will still be perceived by us as a large object, despite the fact that its image on the retina will be much smaller than its image when we stand next to it.

Perception depends not only on the nature of the irritation, but also on the subject himself. It is not the eye and the ear that perceive, but a specific living person. Therefore, the perception is always affected by the characteristics of a person's personality. The dependence of perception on the general content of our mental life is called apperception. Perception activates past experience. Therefore, the same object can be perceived differently by different people. An essential place in apperception is occupied by attitudes and emotions, which can change the content of perception. Thus, the mother of a sleeping child may not hear the noise of the street, but instantly reacts to any sound coming from the child's side.

The next property of perception is its meaningfulness. Although perception arises from the direct action of a stimulus on the sensory organs, perceptual images always have a certain semantic meaning. As we have already said, human perception is closely related to thinking. The connection between thinking and perception is primarily expressed in the fact that to consciously perceive an object is to mentally name it, i.e. refer to a specific group, class, associate it with a specific word. Even at the sight of an unfamiliar object, we try to establish in it a similarity with other objects. Therefore, perception is not simply determined by a set of stimuli affecting the senses, but is a constant search for the best interpretation of the available data.

Activity (or selectivity) means that at any given time we perceive only one object or a specific group of objects, while the rest of the objects of the real world are the background of our perception, i.e. are not reflected in our minds.

For example, you are listening to a lecture or reading a book and are completely oblivious to what is happening behind you.

Differences in life experience, in knowledge, views, interests, in the emotional attitude of people to objects and phenomena of reality give rise to significant individual differences in perception. They affect both the completeness, accuracy and speed of perception, and the nature of its generalization and emotional coloring. Depending on the skills and habits acquired in experience, and, consequently, on the previously formed systems of temporary connections, different types of perception are formed. In some people, perception is characterized by greater integrity and emotionality with less pronounced analysis (synthetic type of perception). In others, perceptions are more analytical with less pronounced concreteness and integrity of perception (analytical type of perception). Finally, in people of the third type of perception, they are specific, holistic and at the same time analytical (analytic-synthetic type of perception). Representatives of the first type pay more attention to facts; representatives of the second type - on the meaning and explanation of facts; the third type combines observation and description of facts with their explanation. Extreme types of perception are less common than the average - analytic-synthetic type of perception.

Significant individual differences in perception are created by the degree of differentiation and generalization of the previously formed systems of temporary connections. Insufficient differentiation of temporal connections leads to incompleteness and inaccuracy of perceptions, which are usually supplemented by various subjective influences, which is especially often observed with increased emotional excitability of a person. Subjective distortions of perception can also arise as a result of the formation of inert stereotypes, that is, strong, but inactive and difficult to change systems of temporary connections. Such hard-to-change, inert stereotypes are expressed in prejudice of views, often distorting perception, making it one-sided.

Each of us comprehends the world, relying on the information provided by the five classical senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. True, there are many contenders for the role of the sixth (seventh, eighth and further) sense; the main one is kinesthetic sensations (sensations of movement and position of one's own body, as well as muscular efforts). The image of the world that arises in a person on the basis of our sensations seems natural, understandable and the only possible one. And almost the same - the only possible, well-established and monumental - psychology of perception may seem - the classic object of interest of scientific psychology for more than a hundred years, from its very birth. And it turned out that new discoveries were made in this "classical" area, somewhat shaking our ideas about the "only possible" image of the world. These discoveries are associated with the now fashionable neurolinguistic programming (NLP).

NLP founders John Grinder and Richard Bandler, a computer scientist and linguist, are not scientists, but pragmatists. Having wondered why some psychotherapists are successful in helping people, while others are not, they did not delve into the jungle of theories or talk about a wonderful gift and intuition. They took a different path: observing and analyzing the work of the best psychotherapists of the 1970s, they tried to isolate the constituent elements of their success, that is, to understand "how they do what they do." Discerned. Systematized. We have created a technology for successful behavior and communication. Checked - it works. They did not become interested in how what they got was related to the well-established psychological knowledge and theories: what difference does it make if it works. Explained to others. They began to spread - an unheard of success came.

The notion of representational systems that determine individual differences in perception and others cognitive processes is one of the achievements of NLP. In order to understand what is behind the beautiful phrase "representational system", read the excerpts from the conversation with the nine-year-old girl Ksenia. Try to imagine her world as vividly as possible. What is he?

• - Ksenia, please tell us what you want.
• - I don't know ... Okay ... I'll tell you how my grandfather and I went to the forest. We entered the forest and walked along the path. SPLASHED branches, DRY from the sun, SLASHED us across the face. Then black clouds appeared, and it began to rain. I FEEL the drops falling on me. Thunderstorm began. It was scary.
• - Were you afraid of bright lightning or thunder?
• - No, why be afraid of thunder?
• - Why is it scary?
• - It's just scary, that's all. And something else could have DROP on me: a branch or even a tree. Everything around is messed up. Such an UNPLEASANT MUD around. We walked through fallen trees overgrown with moss and woody mushrooms. Green frogs were jumping around us. Frogs feel good - they LIKE MOKRYATINA, and they are not at all scared ...
• - Ksenia, tell us how you went to visit.
• - I will describe their apartment: dark, SOUL, UNAIRED, and a big cat lives with them - they Smell ...
• - Do you like to dress up?
• - Hate. They tortured the poor child. Yesterday we bought a jacket. They put one on me: “Look what a fashionable style! Look how it goes! " And this jacket has SLEEVES AS CUFFLES.
• - What are the cuffs?
• - from the apparatus with which the pressure is measured.
• - Have you bought a jacket?
• - This one is not, we bought another, very SOFT.

The world of Xenia is the world of thorny branches and wet drops, stuffy rooms, tight or soft jackets. Ksenia is a KINESTHETIC, that is, for her consciousness, the sensations of the body, movement, touch, as well as smells and tastes are of the greatest importance.

And now - the world of eleven-year-old Sasha.

• - Please tell us how you like to spend your free time.
• - I sometimes with friends, and sometimes with a dog, I like to go for a walk in the forest. I can wander for hours, LISTENING TO THE SOUNDS OF NATURE: the RUSHING OF LEAVES on the trees, then the CHIRLING OF BIRDS. In the forest there is a small BURLING RIVER. There are almost no people where I walk, so YOU ​​FEEL SUCH PLEASURE EVEN FROM THE SILENCE OF THE FOREST.

In general, I feel great joy from COMMUNICATION with friends. We exchange CASSETS, it happens that we go to CONCERTS. I really like the GROUPS "Time Machine", "Black Sabbath", "Aria". When I LISTEN to such music, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of extraordinary joy, inner lift.

• - What's your favorite subject?
• - I love history and a foreign language. From history you will learn how people lived before. Foreign - for the ability to COMMUNICATE with people in another language.

The boy has a well-developed kinesthetic system: a constant refrain in his story is the words “feel”, “feeling covers”. And yet, first of all, it is AUDIAL, that is, it relies on auditory information in comprehending the world. His world is the world of the sounds of nature and favorite rock bands, the joy of communication (conversation) with friends. His favorite subjects make it possible to communicate (in another language) or learn interesting stories(how people used to live).

In addition to kinesthetics and audials, it is customary to single out VISUALS - visual information is of primary importance for their consciousness. Thus, there are three types of people differing in the type of LEADING REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM.

The predominance of this or that type of representational system can be expressed very clearly, and maybe rather weakly. The first is more characteristic of young children, who first develop only one of the representational systems (more often - kinesthetic) and only then the second and third. For example, nine-year-old Xenia, along with kinesthetic ones, has vivid visual and auditory images. Here is a conversation with six-year-old Kolya. Note that even individual calls to the visual system are quickly translated into the kinesthetic code familiar to the boy.

• - Kolya, what do you like to do the most?
• - Sports, skiing. You can ride them down the hill, practice. You can play, accelerate, ride at speed and steer from a hill, like in a car.
• - What else do you like to do?
• - Charging. There are a lot of exercises. Especially rope crawling. I like that you can sit at a height, it's so interesting.
• - Why is it interesting to sit at a height?
• - Everything is seen.
• - What do you see?
• - Well, you'll be older than everyone.
• - Do you want to be older than everyone?
• - Yes. To be high. To REACH the sky and REMOVE the sun from there ...
• - Imagine this situation: you found yourself in the forest alone and got lost. How will you get out, find your way home?
• - You can tell by the tree. SEE where there is more moss, where there is less. Where there is less moss, there is north, where there is more, there is south.
• - And where are we going?
• - Let's go on the road WHERE YOU ALREADY WALKED.

What determines in a person's life his leading representational system? Firstly, it determines what information from the surrounding world is absorbed most easily and fastest, and what aspects of it will be paid attention first of all. Let's say a child sees an interesting new toy in a store. The visual will try to consider it properly. The audial will start asking what it is, what the toy is for and how to play with it. The kinesthetic will try to hold and touch the toy. Most likely, these three will prefer different things: visual - a bright and beautiful toy, kinesthetic - soft or pleasant to the touch. As for the audial, if there is no sounding or talking toy in the store, he may prefer to choose a character from a fairy tale or a cartoon - someone with whom some interesting story is connected.

The second difference related to the leading representational system is the preferred form of storing information in memory and ease of retrieval from memory. different types information. For example, thinking about a loved one, one will remember, first of all, his face, the other - his voice, and the third - the softness of his hands or the smell.

The third important aspect of representational systems is the ease of operating with different types of information in the process of mental activity. Consider, for example, the process of choosing the right road in unfamiliar terrain. The visual will try to stock up on a plan and navigate by it. If there is no plan, he will try to imagine the area as best as possible and choose a road based on its visual image. The audial will question the passers-by. The kinesthetic person will most likely seek the correct path when moving in different directions until he gets to the goal. However, it is not always possible to choose the optimal way of presenting information. For example, in the process of schooling, visuals are easier to learn. new material from the blackboard or from the book, and the auditor from the teacher's explanation. But the teacher will only choose one thing (which is likely to depend on his own guiding system). The modern education system does not provide almost any opportunities for kinesthetics. However, among children of primary school age, it is the kinesthetics that are the most. Therefore, many difficulties in the initial stages of education are determined by the fact that the form of education does not agree well with the child's leading representational system. Such difficulties should be overcome by developing all three representational systems and developing skills for transcoding information from one system to another. This is what happens spontaneously in the first years of schooling.

Finally, representational systems largely determine the images into which emotions and feelings, experiences and internal states are translated, as well as the “language” in which we are trying to tell others about them. So, about the same state, three people with different leading systems will say completely differently. Visual: "When I look into my future, it seems unclear to me." Audial: "I can't say anything about my future." Kinesthetic: "I can't feel what's going to happen."

The following example, given by Grinder and Bandler, demonstrates how difficult it is to understand each other even for the closest people, if they have different representational systems.

The kinesthetic husband comes home from work tired and wants comfort. He sits down in a chair, kicks off his shoes, covers himself with newspapers and magazines. The visual wife comes in. She cleaned the house all day to keep everything looking good. She sees things scattered throughout the room and explodes. The husband complains: “She does not give me a place in the house where I could sit comfortably. This is my home. I want comfort! " In order for spouses to understand each other, it is necessary to find a kinesthetic correspondence with visual complaints. For example: “You really don't understand what your wife is going through. Imagine that you come to your bedroom in the evening to go to bed, and your wife is sitting in bed and eating cookies. You lie down and feel the crumbs dig into your skin. Do you know now what she feels when she walks into the living room and sees things scattered about? "

To speak with an interlocutor in the "language" of his leading representational system means to maintain a close connection with him and achieve mutual understanding. Conversation skills are important to practical psychologists and anyone who works with people.

Thus, taking into account the individual characteristics of perception makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of training and the organization of cognitive activity, as well as to improve mutual understanding between people.

NLP specialists determine the leading representational system by eye movements, which, however, requires special training. It is less accurate, but still possible to determine the leading representational system by the peculiarities of speech and behavior.

Perception largely depends on the characteristics of the perceiving subject. The perceived image is individual, it belongs to the inner world of a given person, since the selectivity of perception in the formation of a specific image is determined by his personal interests, needs, motives and attitudes, which determines the uniqueness and emotional coloring of the image. The dependence of perception on the content of a person's mental life, the characteristics of his personality is called apperception.

The Swiss psychologist G. Rorschach found that even meaningless ink stains (Fig. 7) are always perceived as something meaningful. At the same time, a person, depending on individual characteristics, puts his meaning in the content of what he sees.

Rice. 7.

Individual differences in perception can be conditionally classified into the following types: synthetic and analytical, explanatory and descriptive, objective and subjective. The selection of these types is based on the establishment of the correlation of the sensory organization with thought and emotional processes.

For people with a synthetic type, a generalized reflection and definition of the main meaning of what is happening is characteristic. They do not attach importance to the details and do not see them. People with an analytical type distinguish, in the first place, details, particulars. They often find it difficult to understand the general meaning of phenomena. The general idea of ​​the object, events is often replaced by a thorough analysis of individual actions, details, while not being able to highlight the main thing.

Descriptive people are limited to the factual side of what they see and hear. On the contrary, people belonging to the explanatory type try to explain the essence of the perceived phenomenon.

People with an objective type of perception are characterized by a strict correspondence of the perceived to what is happening in reality. Those with a subjective type of perception bring their own attitude to the perceived object, phenomenon. They talk more about what they thought or felt at the moment of the events they are talking about.

The personality traits of observation are of great importance for individual differences in perception. Observation is a personality trait, based on the desire and ability to most fully notice the features of objects and phenomena. A characteristic feature observation is the speed of perception of the subtle. One of the factors contributing to the development of observation is curiosity. The observation process is an active form of cognition of reality.

Under certain circumstances (sharp physical, emotional, mental overload, the action of certain chemicals, diseases, etc.), there are disturbances in perception. Insurance companies have statistics that prove that there is a whole chasm from visual image to reality. How many times has a tree been mistaken for an extension of the road, and the shadow of a rock for a turn? If we look at figure 8, we can see the flickering dots, although they are not drawn. This phenomenon is an illusion of perception, that is, a distorted perception of a really existing object. An example of psychological illusions is the overestimation of vertical lines compared to horizontal ones (provided that the lengths of the segments are objectively equal), the illusion of railway tracks (a line located in a narrower part of the space enclosed between two converging straight lines seems to be longer), etc. Most often illusions are manifested in determining the size, parallelism and distance, contrast of objects. The item appears larger next to small items and smaller next to larger ones.

Rice. eight.

The most famous perceptual disorder is hallucinations - imaginary perception. A person dominated by hallucinations perceives objects that are absent in reality as really existing.

 

It might be useful to read:

• Craft from plasticine for the day of cosmonautics;
• School riddles - fun activity for kids;
• How to mold a plasticine bat step by step with a photo;
• Embroidered keyrings Embroidered keychain scheme;
• Station game "fair";
• Games in the summer day camp for primary school children;
• Camp contests for children;
• Children's riddles about transport;