There are many and diverse opinions about order in the study of this topic in relation to other issues, because many researchers say that it should be studied as a preamble first the issue of consciousness because it is closely related to it; others state that it must be dealt with below the subject of perception and before memory. In short, the subject of attention is considered in a general way and the point of coincidence for being an integral part of the cognitive life of man since this is the basis for memory.
The purpose is to give a short prelude to the topic, addressing it in a simple way.
Fuente de la Imagen
1. DEFINITION:
It is the psychological function that allows to select a stimulus or group of them from the set of an experience, and that implies, generally, an effort of the subject to obtain it.
Attention is the process through which we can direct our mental resources on some aspects of the environment, the most relevant ones, or on the execution of certain actions that we consider most appropriate among the possible ones. It refers to the state of observation and alertness that allows us to become aware of what happens in our environment (Ballesteros, 2002).
Tudela (1992) has defined attention as a central mechanism of limited capacity whose primary function is to control and guide the conscious activity of the organism according to a specific objective.
2. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT
- STRUCTURALISM: Attention understood as a state of consciousness that entails a sensory clarity.
- FUNCTIONALISM: Attention understood as an active function of the organism based on emotions and with an adaptive character.
- GESTALT AND BEHAVIOR: They rejected the relevance of the attention processes from their theoretical postulates.
- COGNITIVISM: The cognitive approach, called "information processing", will give attention to great value because it attributes the selection of information.
3. FUNCTIONS OF THE ATTENTION
- Exercises control over cognitive ability.
- Activates the organism in new situations and planned, or insufficiently learned.
- Prevents excessive information loading.
- Structure human activity. It facilitates the conscious motivation towards the development of abilities and determines the direction of attention (motivation).
- Ensures adequate perceptual processing of the most relevant sensory stimuli.
4. ALTERATIONS
Alterations of care include:
4.1.- Distrabilidad and instability of the attention. It is when the capacity of concentration is not maintained enough and, therefore, the tenacity necessary to sustain an adequate examination of the stimulus does not exist. It is presented as a characteristic sign in the deficit syndrome of the attention of the so-called hyperkinetic children; also, as an important component of the manic syndrome in adults.
4.2.- Hyperprosexia. Opposite to the previous one, it is the tenacious and constant concentration of the attention on a stimulus or group of them with almost total exclusion of the others that happen around the person. It occurs in depression, obsessives and hypochondriacs.
4.3.- Abnormal indifference. It is the lack of interest (paying attention) to environmental events that would normally interest any person. It occurs when there is fatigue or elevation of the threshold of attention that accompanies the cerebral organic syndromes; also, as a very characteristic sign of schizophrenia.
4.4.- Abnormal perplexity. It derives from the strange and over-aggregated contents that impede the determination of the current problem and that can produce strangeness or anxiety in the face of this disability. It appears, especially, in the melancholic depression and in the schizophrenia in its beginnings.
4.5.- Frustration of the objective. It is the failure in the culmination of the direction of attention towards the chosen stimulus (correct intentionality) by the appearance of other people's experiences that deviate or interrupt the precise goal. It is an important symptom of the schizophrenia that would explain the disintegration in this psychosis, and that has given body to the denominated theory of the psychological deficit for the schizophrenia sustained by Chapman and McGhie.
5. EXPLORATION FORMS
During an interview, one can observe the way in which the patient pays attention to the procedures of the examination and the spontaneous or meditated (concentrated) way as he responds to the questions. Specify the magnitude of the stimulus that is required to awaken your attention, the time that maintains it and the ease or difficulty with which it emerges from it. Simple tests can help quantify alterations. Thus, the cancellation of zeros (Valdizán test) is very useful, but it can be replaced with the one to cross out any letter in a specific writing.
Also, serial subtraction (subtract 7 from 7 from 100). Also the briefest exposure (seconds) of a sheet containing ten objects. Record those that you capture, learn or identify at that time.