Psychology Attention and Memory

B.Ed. 2015-16

M.VijayalakshmiAssistant Professor

Unit IVAttention and Memory

Attention: Meaning, nature, distraction, inattention, divided attention and span of attention – determinants of attention – Sensation and Perception – Law of perception: Errors in perception (illusion and Hallucination) – Concept Formation: types and theories – Memory: meaning, types of memory, Storage system of memory and strategies for improving memory – Forgetting: meaning, causes, theory of forgetting – Memory disorder.

Meaning of Attention

• “Act of directing one’s thought” towards a particular act or object

• Concentration or focusing of consciousness upon one object

• Military command – prepares a soldier for an action

-Woodworth

Definition of Attention• Attention is the process of getting an object

of thought clearly before the mind-Ross (1951)

• Process which compels the individual to select some particular stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of stimuli present in the environment

-Sharma R. N. (1967)

Characteristics • Selective• Direction of mental activity – knowing, feeling

and willing• Shifting • Attracted by new things• Makes clear in our consciousness the object

which we attend to• Arouses the individual to attend the particular

objects• Creates a attentive attitude of the individual

Types of Attention

Attention

Non-volitional

Enforced Spontaneous

Volitional

Implicit Explicit

• Attention–Non-volitional• Enforced –(sustained by instincts)• Spontaneous -(sustained by a sentiment)

–Volitional• Implicit -(obtained by a single act of will)• Explicit -(obtained by repeated acts of will)

Distraction

• Kind of stimulus which distracts our attention from the objects which we are focusing

• Example:-Sound of music played on streets – disturbs – attention of the students in a classroom

Causes of Distraction

• Abnormal student strength• Defective lighting• Abnormal temperature in class

rooms• Uncomfortable seats

Methods of Eliminating Distraction• Much emphasis and importance must be

given to the task• Create favourable situation• Make lesson interesting• Training in concentration• Attention-distracting objects removed from

the neighbourhood• Encounter same type of distraction everyday

– used to them and start ignoring it

Inattention

• The absence of attention• Its outward signs – • The student is careless about the object which of

primary attention• Movement of students’ eyes are random and not

fixed• Seems to be perplexed – does not understand

and receive clear impressions• Seems to be restless and writhing his body

Causes of Inattention

Lack of interest or

needFatigue

Presence of distraction

Lack of Motivation

Types of Inattention

Absolute Inattention

Partial Inattention

Division of Attention

• If a person concentrates on two works simultaneously

• Two physical work at a time• One physical work and one mental work

at a time • Develop these skills by constant practice

Span of Attention• Span means the number of objects or events

one individual can attend to at a given time• Number of things one can attend to at any time• It is a threshold to perceive at a glance at a

given duration of exposure• At a glance how many letters, digits one can

see and reproduce• Amount of information which can be received

from a complex stimulus in a single moment

Measured by Tachistoscope

• Individual difference exists• Human sense organ can perceive

only limited objects or events at a time• Employed by police and transport

departments – giving four digits numbers to motor vehicles

Determinants of AttentionObjective/External factors Subjective/Internal factors

Stimulus Instincts Size Interest

Intensity Need Change Mental setContrast MoodNovelty Physiological condition

Movement Habit Repetition Heredity

Systematic form

Contrast

Sensation

• Sense organs - Gateways of knowledge• Knowledge is realized through sense

organs• Immediate result of sense organ being

acted upon by appropriate stimuli• Derived from the stimulation of the

sense organs or receptors

Name of the sense organ

Name of the sense Sensation

Eyes Visual sense Vision

Ears Auditory sense Hearing

Nose Olfactory sense Smell

Tongue Gustatory sense Taste

Skin Tactile sense Touch

Perception

• Perception = Sensation + Meaningful Interpretation

• Process of getting to know objects and objective facts by the use of the senses

-R.S. Woodworth and D.G. Marquis

Characteristics

• Meaningful• Selective • Our past experience determines the nature of

perception• Synthetic activity• Analysis in perception• Analysis and synthesis occur at the same time• Process of integration takes place

Law of Perceptual Organization

Figure and Ground Relationship

Determinants of Perception• External Factors i. Proximityii. Similarityiii. Continuityiv. Closure• Internal Factorsi. Past experiencesii. Attitude or Mental set

Errors in Perception

Illusion

Hallucination

Illusion

• That which does not really exist• Visual Illusion• Auditory Illusion• Optical Illusion – physically equal,

subjectively and psychologically unequal

Muller-Lyer IllusionOptical Illusion

Horizontal – Vertical Illusion

Hallucination

• False perception• Mirage• Images – when not present• Imagery – mental capacity to form

images• Eidetic image – immediate image

Defining Mental Disorder

Meaning of Concept

• Generalized image or idea which stands for a group of objects that have some common characteristics• Man, Animal, Book, Car, Tree etc. -

Concepts

Types of Concepts

Concepts

Simple Complex Imaginary

Concepts of Objects

Concepts of Aspects

Quality Relations

Jerome Bruner’s classification

Conjunctive

Disjunctive

Relational

Concept Formation

Abstraction

Generalization

Concept Attainment

Gagne’s Hierarchical Learning Theory

• Signal Learning• S-R Learning• Chaining• Verbal Association Learning• Multiple Discrimination Learning• Concept Learning• Rule/Principle Learning• Problem Solving

John Dewey’s Problem Solving

• Awareness of the Problem• Recognition of the problem• Collection of Data• Formulation of Hypotheses• Evaluation or Testing of Hypothesis• Making of Generalization

Teacher’s Role

• Moderate Motivation• Encourage Divergent Thinking• Problem should be presented as a whole• Level of Difficulty• Active Manipulation• Practice• Incomplete Solution of Problems

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

• Sensory Motor Stage - (Birth to 2 years)• Pre-operational Stage

- (2 to 7 years)• Concrete Operational Stage

- (7 to 11 years)• Formal Operational Stage

- (11 years to adulthood)

Bruner’s Cognitive Development or Meaning Verbal Learning Theory

1 Enactive Representation

Motor actions and Movements

Pre-school Stage

2 Iconic Representation

Sensory Images or Mental Pictures

Childhood Stage

3 Symbolic Representation

Words, Symbols, Formula

Adolescence Stage

Bruner’s Theory of Instruction 4 features

Predisposition to Learn

Structure of Knowledge

Sequence

Reinforcement

Concept Maps

• Lead from “Ausubel’s Theory of Advanced Organizers”

• Novak and Gowin – developed Concept Maps in Teaching

Concept Maps

It is useful in explaining the general principles formed out of many related ideas and also the mutual relationships existing between the various general principles themselves

Concept Map

Uses of Concept Maps• To understand: The relationship between the various ideas put forth in a lesson

- Lead to the general principles How the different general principles are themselves related• To prepare a classified summary of the ideas learnt in a lesson - Hierarchical way Linkage Cross linkage• Helps the teacher to prepare the lesson for the class• Given as a follow up activity to pupils – Home Assignment• Promotes Analytical thinking in students – Learning become meaningful and comprehensive

Memory - Meaning• Layman – capacity to reproduce what is learnt• Psychologists – Remembering• Remembering – An active process of Mental

search• Remembering – Retention & Retrieving• Retention – What is learnt• Retrieving – Retrieving it when it is required for

subsequent use

Remembering – 3 Stages

Learning or

Memorizing

Retention or

storing

Retrieving or gaining

access to it

(Recall or

Recognition)

Learning or Memorizing

Learning Depends on

Nature of Learning Material

Length or Amount MeaningfulnessComplexityAssociation

Nature of the Learner

Physical ConditionIntelligenceInterest/MotivationNeed

Learning Methods

Rote Learning/Meaningful LearningSpaced/Massed LearningWhole/Part LearningAssociative Learning

Kinds of Memory

Incidental or Intentional Memory

Vivid or Indistinct Memory

Observational or Rote Memory

The Multi-store Model

Strategies for Improving Memory

• Have the desire or motivation to learn• Meaningful material is learnt quickly and

retained longer• Follow SQ3R method (Survey, Questioning,

Recite, Repeat ad and Review)• Spacing the learning periods• Recitation• Over-learning

• Rhymes and logical associations• Mnemonic devices – VIBGYOR• Multisensory learning• Periodical rest and sleep immediately after

learning – improves retention• Subjects of study – arranged • Teacher – Instruction Style – Concept Maps

Remembering & Forgetting

MEMORY DISORDERS

• Result of damage to neuro-anatomical structures that hinders the storage, retention and recollection of memories

• Progressive including Alzheimer’s disease• Immediate including disorders from head

injury

Memory Disorders

Common Memory Lapses

Memory Slip

Alcohol-related Dementia

Mental Blocks

Long-term Memory Loss

Dementia

Alzheimer’s Disease

Vascular Dementia

Post-traumatic Memory Loss

Role of Teacher in Teaching and Learning

Teacher as a Model

Credit to the Sources

Images are taken from INTERNET Sources

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