أنواع الانتباه .. كتاب علم النَّفس جميل صَليبا

Types of attention

Attention varies depending on its subject and the reason for its occurrence.

1- It varies according to the topic. - If attention is directed to something external, it is called external, and if it is directed to our internal life, it is called internal.

External attention
External attention is divided into sensory and motor. Sensory attention refers to the gathering of the activity of the senses around a specific thing, such as the attention of a zoologist to an insect, or the attention of an archaeologist to an ancient medal, and the difference between sight and sight, or hearing and listening, such as the difference between simple sensory perception and perception based on attention. As for motor attention, it is organizing and arranging our movements so that they match external things, such as a worker’s attention to his work, and arranging the movements necessary to accomplish it according to what is required by its various conditions.

Internal attention
- It is a person’s view of his inner life. And he contemplated it. Either this attention is a simple mental act, or it is a deep contemplation. A person may contemplate his thoughts, memories, and perceptions. In terms of external things, it may be contemplated that they are generated. Of his personal conditions in that they are internal and subjective, and he may aim to study them for a scientific (psychological) purpose or for an ethical or literary purpose, and this contemplation of him is called introspection or introspection.

2- It varies according to the reason. Attention is divided according to the currency that generates it into three: automatic attention, spontaneous attention, and voluntary attention.
Automatic attention. This attention is generated automatically by a direct external influence, independent of will and attention, such as a person’s attention to a sudden movement, a bright light, thunderous thunder, or flashing lightning, or his attention to a fixed idea controlling himself (idee fixe). This attention results from the strength of the stimulus, not from the soul’s direction toward the thing or its inclination towards it. It is therefore dependent on the intensity of the external feeling, or the strength of the fixed idea, and not on the tendencies, inclinations, and preparations of the soul.

Automatic attention
Automatic attention is generated from our interest in something and our inclination toward it. We care about all things equally. Rather, we tend toward some of them rather than others automatically, without intellectual effort or psychological fatigue. Animals only pay attention when they fear danger or feel a benefit. He pays attention to what is appropriate with a desire to obtain it, and he pays attention to what is incompatible with a desire to avoid it. This attention stems from the instinct to preserve survival, and without it, the animal would have perished in the battlefield of life. A child's attention is similar to that of an animal, except that his love of curiosity is stronger and stronger. As for an adult, his inclination toward things varies according to their danger, their funnyness, and their rarity, that is, according to his interest in them. His attention to them is often accompanied by emotion. If tourists visit one country, each of them comes back with different memories, because they do not pay attention to one thing, and if we walk on the road, we pay attention to some things and not others. Automatic attention is therefore selection, devoid of will. However, it is not only dependent on external factors (severity, scarcity), but it is also dependent on many internal factors: including mood, acquired culture, type of personal thinking, present concerns, and susceptibility to emotion.

Voluntary attention
Voluntary attention arises from the concentration of the soul’s activity around some of the things to which we are not naturally inclined, such as a student’s attention to a reading or arithmetic lesson, for example, or your attention to your neighbor’s boring conversation while you are at a late-night party. This attention requires a voluntary effort, because the will is necessary to gather the activity of the soul in one center. However, the degree of voluntary attention is not always proportional to the amount of effort expended. Rather, the amount of effort may differ among different people due to differences in readiness and gain. If a person gets used to restraining himself and controlling his desires and whims, the amount of effort necessary for his voluntary attention will decrease. Animals are often not worthy of voluntary attention. It is true that people themselves differ in their quality of life. They change according to the conditions of social life, and differ according to crafts and actions, whether material or intellectual. Habit may turn this voluntary attention into automatic attention, and it is then called derived attention. In the beginning, the athlete needs effort and will, but after he is immersed in thinking, he forgets himself, is completely inclined towards his problems, all obstacles are removed from his path, and his attention becomes automatic. Habit has a strong impact on a person’s life. It alleviates the burden of misery, pain, illness, and poverty, and makes it easier to bear. Once it is established in the soul, it becomes second nature.