Concentration (psychology)
Concentration ( Latin concentra , "together to the center") is the willful focus of attention on a certain activity, the achievement of a short-term achievable goal or the solving of a given task.
Focusing means that attention is paid to what is currently exercised or felt for a certain period of time, depending on the task also to what is to come. When drawing a line to touch a point, the eyes are already looking at the point as the line is drawn.
Concentration requires mental effort and decreases over time. Concentration is therefore understood to mean maintaining a level of alertness for a relatively long time.
Influencing factors
- The emotional state: If you are in a positive emotional state, you are more focused. In contrast, concentration decreases during a negative mood.
- The physical condition.
- The motor activation and motor training.
- The environmental conditions (e.g. media influences) also affect the concentration.
- Food
- sleep
The points mentioned are interdependent.
Measurement of concentration
The measurement of concentration is done with the help of standardized tests (attention-load tests), which depict the ability to perform certain tasks over a certain period of time. The evaluation is based on the number of completed tasks and the number of mistakes that have been made.
The value of the classic paper-and-pencil tests is controversial, as the test items usually have little relevance to everyday life.
Promote concentration
The following factors can be considered beneficial:
- Food that the need for omega-3 fatty acid covers and vitamins, especially of vitamin B .
- Concentration exercises such as B. meditation , concentration games (alone or in a group).
- Day sleep (10 to 30 minutes).
- Relaxation methods ( autogenic training , meditation, yoga , progressive muscle relaxation , lots of sleep).
- Moderate endurance sport has a positive effect on mood and thus also on concentration.
- A balanced glucose level can have a positive effect, a very low glucose level can make it difficult to concentrate.
See also
Web links
- zeit.de: How do you stay focused? A visit to the London attention laboratory
- zeit.de: More and more, faster and faster, all at the same time - everyday life consumes our attention
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans W. Hunziker: Visual information intake and intelligence: An investigation into the eye fixations in problem solving. In: Swiss journal for psychology and its applications. 29, No. 1/2, 1970.
- ^ H. Budde, C. Voelcker-Rehage, S. Pietraßyk-Kendziorra, P. Ribeiro, G. Tidow: Acute coordinative exercise improves attentional performance in adolescents. In: Neuroscience Letters. 441, 2008, pp. 219-223.
- ^ C. Hagemeister, K. Westhoff: Concentration diagnosis. In: L. Hornke, M. Amelang, M. Kersting: Enzyklopädie der Psychologie. (= Psychological diagnostics. Volume 3: Performance, intelligence and behavior diagnostics ). Hogrefe, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-8017-1526-7 , pp. 51-96.