Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education

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=Factors in Process.=--The above facts demonstrate, however, that the
mind can take this attitude toward any problem only if it has a certain
store of old knowledge relative to it. Two important conditions of
voluntary attention are therefore, first, that the mind should have the
necessary ideas, or knowledge, with which to attend and, secondly, that
it would select and adjust these to the purpose in view. Here the
intimate connection of voluntary attention to the normal learning
process is apparent. The step of preparation, for instance, is merely
putting the mind in the proper attitude to attend voluntarily to an end
in view, namely the lesson problem; while the so-called
analytic-synthetic process of learning involves the selecting and
adjusting movements of voluntary attention.

=Spontaneous and Voluntary Attention Distinguished.=--In describing
voluntary attention as an active form of attention, psychologists assume
that since the mind here wills, or resolves, to attend, in order to gain
a certain end in view; therefore voluntary attention must imply a much
greater degree of effort, or strain, than other types. That such is
always the case, however, is at times not very apparent. If one may
judge by the straining of eye or ear, the poise of the body, the holding
of the breath, etc., when a person gives involuntary attention to any
sudden impression, as a strange noise at night, it is evident that the
difference of effort, or strain, in attending to this and some selected
problem may not, during the time it continues, be very marked.

It is of course true that in voluntary attention the mind must choose
its own object of attention as an end, or aim, while in the involuntary
type the problem seems thrust upon us. This certainly does imply a
deliberate choice in the former, and to that extent may be said to
involve an effort not found in the latter. In like manner, when seeking
to attain the end which has been set up, the mind must select the
related ideas which will solve its problem. This in turn may demand the
grasping of a number of complex relations. To say, however, that all
striving to attain an end is lacking in a case of involuntary attention
would evidently be fallacious. When the mind is startled by a strange
noise, the mind evidently does go out, though in a less formal way, to
interpret a problem involuntarily thrust upon it. When, for instance, we
receive the violent impression, the mind may be said to ask itself,
"What strange impression is this?" and to that extent, even here, faces
a selected problem. The distinguishing feature of voluntary attention,
therefore, is the presence of a consciously conceived end, or aim, upon
which the mind deliberately sets its attention as something to be
thought _about_.

ATTENTION IN EDUCATION

=Voluntary Attention and Learning.=--From what has been seen, it is
evident that, when a pupil in his school approaches any particular
problem, the learning process will represent a process of voluntary
attention. This form of attention is, therefore, one of special
significance to the teacher, since a knowledge of the process will cast
additional light upon the learning process. The first condition of
voluntary attention is the power to select some idea as an end, or
problem, for attention. It was seen, however, that the focusing of
attention upon any problem depends upon some form of desirable change to
be effected in and through the set problem. For instance, unless the
recovery of the coin is conceived as producing a desirable change, it
would not become a deliberately set problem for attention. It is
essential, therefore, that the end which the child is to choose as an
object of attention should be one conceived as demanding a desired
change, or adjustment. For instance, to ask a child to focus his
attention upon two pieces of wood merely as pieces of wood is not likely
to call forth an active effort of attention. To direct his attention to
them to find out how many times the one is contained in the other, on
the other hand, focuses his attention more strongly upon them; since the
end to be reached will awaken his curiosity and set an interesting
problem.

=Non-voluntary Attention in Education.=--On account of the ease with
which attention seems to centre itself upon its object in non-voluntary
attention, it is sometimes erroneously claimed that this is the type of
attention to be aimed at in the educative process, especially with young
children. Such a view is, however, a fallacious one, and results from a
false notion of the real character of both non-voluntary and voluntary
attention. In a clear example of non-voluntary attention, the mind
dwells upon the ideas merely on account of their inherent
attractiveness, and passes from one idea to its associated idea without
any purposeful end in view. This at once shows its ineffectiveness as a
process of learning. When the young lover's thoughts revert in a
non-voluntary way to the fair one, he perhaps passes into a state of
mere reminiscence, or at best of idle fancy. Even the student whose
thoughts run on in a purposeless manner over his favourite subject, will
merely revive old associations, or at best make a chance discovery of
some new knowledge. In the same way, the child who delights in musical
sounds may be satisfied to drum the piano by the hour, but this is
likely to give little real advance, unless definite problems are set up
and their attainment striven for in a purposeful way.

=Voluntary Attention and Interest.=--A corollary of the fallacy
mentioned above is the assumption that voluntary attention necessarily
implies some conflict with the mind's present desire or interest. It is
sometimes said, for instance, that in voluntary attention, we compel our
mind to attend, while our interest would naturally direct our attention
elsewhere. But without a desire to effect some change in or through the
problem being attended to, the mind would not voluntarily make it an
object of attention. The misconception as to the relation of voluntary
attention to interest is seen in an illustration often given as an
example of non-voluntary attention. It is said, rightly enough, that if
a child is reading an interesting story, and is just at the point where
the plot is about to unravel itself, there will be difficulty in
diverting his attention to other matters. This, it is claimed, furnishes
a good example of the power of non-voluntary attention. But quite the
opposite may be the case. When called upon, say by his parent, to lay
aside the book and attend to some other problem, the child, it is true,
shows a desire to continue reading. But this may be because he has a
definite aim of his own in view--to find out the fate of his hero. This
is a strongly felt need on his part, and his mind refuses to be
satisfied until, by further attention to the problem before him, he has
attained to this end. The only element of truth in the illustration is
that the child's attention is strongly reinforced through the intense
feeling tone associated with the selected, or determined, aim--the fate
of his hero. The fact is, therefore, that a process of voluntary
attention may have associated with its problem as strong an interest as
is found in the non-voluntary type.

=Voluntary Attention Depends on Problem.=--It is evident from the
foregoing that the characteristic of voluntary attention is not the
absence or the presence of any special degree of interest, but rather
the conception of some end, or purpose, to be reached in and through the
attentive process. In other words, voluntary attention is a state of
mind in which the mental movements are not drifting without a chart, but
are seeking to reach a set haven. A person who is greatly interested in
automobiles, for instance, on seeing a new machine, may allow his
attention to run now to this part of the machine, now to that, as each
attracts him in turn. Here no fixed purpose is being served by the
attentive process, and attention may pass from part to part in a
non-voluntary way, the person's general interest in automobiles being
sufficient to keep the attention upon the subject. Suddenly, however, he
may notice something apparently new in the mechanism of the machine, and
a desire arises to understand its significance. This at once becomes an
end to which the mind desires to attain, and voluntary attention
proceeds to direct the mental movements toward its attainment. To
suppose, however, that the interest, manifest in the former mental
movements, is now absent, would evidently be fallacious. The difference
lies in this, that at first the attention seemed fixed on the object
through a general interest only, and drifted from point to point in a
purposeless way, while in the second case an interesting end, or
purpose, controlled the mental movements, and therefore made each
movement significant in relation to the whole conscious process.

=Attention and Knowledge.=--Mention has already been made of the
relation of attention to interest. It should be noted, further, that the
difference in our attention under different circumstances is largely
dependent upon our knowledge. The stonecutter, as he passes the fine
mansion, gives attention to the fretted cornice; the glazier, to the
beautiful windows; the gardener, to the well-kept lawn and beds. Even
the present content of the mind has its influence upon attention. The
student on his way to school, if busy with his spelling lesson, is
attracted to the words and letters on posters and signs. If he is
reviewing his botany, he notes especially the weeds along the walk; if
carrying to his art teacher, with a feeling of pride, the finished
landscape drawing, his attention goes out to the shade and colour of
field and sky. That such a connection must exist between knowledge and
attention is apparent from what has been already noted concerning the
working of the law of apperception.

=Physical Conditions of Attention.=--From what was learned above
regarding the relation of nervous energy to active attention, it is
evident that the ability to attend to a problem at any given time will
depend in part upon the physical condition of the organism. If,
therefore, the nervous energy is lowered through fatigue or sickness,
the attention will be weakened. For this reason the teaching of
subjects, such as arithmetic, grammar, etc., which present difficult
problems, and therefore make large demands upon the attention of the
scholars, should not be undertaken when the pupils' energy is likely to
be at a minimum. Similarly, unsatisfactory conditions in the
school-room, such as poor ventilation, uncomfortable seats, excessive
heat or cold, all tend to lower the nervous energy and thus prevent a
proper concentration of attention upon the regular school work.

=Precautions Relating to Voluntary Attention.=--Although voluntary
attention is evidently the form of attention possessing real educational
value, certain precautions would seem necessary concerning its use. With
very young children the aim for attending should evidently not be too
remote. In other words, the problem should involve matter in which the
children have a direct interest. For this reason it is sometimes said
that young children should set their own problems. This is of course a
paradox so far as the regular school work is concerned, though it does
apply to the pre-school period, and also justifies the claim that with
young children the lesson problem should be closely connected with some
vital interest. It would be useless, for instance, to try to interest
young children in the British North America Act by telling them that the
knowledge will be useful when they come to write on their entrance
examinations. The story of Sir Isaac Brock, on the other hand, wins
attention for itself through the child's patriotism and love of story.
Again, the problem demanding attention should not, in the case of young
children, be too long or complex. For example, a young child might
easily attend to the separate problems of finding out, (1) how many
marbles he must have to give four to James and three to William; (2) how
many times seven can be taken from twenty-eight; (3) how many marbles
James would have if he received four marbles four times; and (4) how
many James would have if he received three marbles three times. But if
given the problem "to divide twenty-eight marbles between James and
William, giving James four every time he gives William three," the
problem may be too complex for his present power of attention. A young
child has not the control over his knowledge necessary to continue any
long process of selecting attention. A relatively short period of
attention to any problem, therefore, exhausts the nervous energy in the
centres connected with a particular set of experiences. It is for this
reason that the lessons in primary classes should be short and varied.
One of the objections, therefore, to a narrow curriculum is that
attention would not obtain needed variety, and that a narrowness in
interest and application may result. On the other hand, it is well to
note that the child must in time learn to concentrate his attention for
longer periods and upon topics possessing only remote, or indirect,
interest.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE FEELING OF INTEREST

=Nature of Feeling.=--Feeling has already been described (Chapter XIX)
as the pleasurable or painful side of any state of consciousness. We
may recall how it was there found that any conscious state, or
experience, for instance, being conscious of the prick of a pin, of
success at an examination, or of the loss of a friend, is not merely a
state of knowledge, or awareness, but is also a state of feeling. It is
a state of feeling because it _affects_ us, that is, because being a
state of _our_ consciousness, it appeals to us pleasurably or painfully
in a way that it can to no one else.

=Neural Conditions of Feeling.=--It has been seen that every conscious
state, or experience, has its affective, or feeling, tone, and also that
every experience involves the transmission of nervous energy through a
number of connected brain cells. On this basis it is thought that the
feeling side of any conscious state is conditioned by the degree of the
resistance encountered as the nervous energy is transmitted. If the
centres involved in the experience are not yet properly organized, or if
the stimulation is strong, the resistance is greater and the feeling
more intense. A new movement of the limbs in physical training, for
example, may at first prove intensely painful, because the centres
involved in the exercise are not yet organized. So also, because a very
bright light stimulates the nerves violently, it causes a painful
feeling. That morphine deadens pain is to be explained on the
assumption that it decreases nervous energy, and thus lessens the
resistance being encountered between the nervous centres affected at the
time.

=Feeling and Habit.=--That the intensity of a feeling is conditioned by
the amount of the resistance seems evident, if we note the relation of
feeling to habit. The first time the nurse-in-training attends a wounded
patient, the experience is marked by intense feeling. After a number of
such experiences, however, this feeling becomes much less. In like
manner, the child who at first finds the physical exercise painful, as
he becomes accustomed to the movements, finds the pain becoming less and
less intense. In such cases it is evident that practice, by organizing
the centres involved in the experience, decreases the resistance between
them, and thus gradually decreases the intensity of the feeling. When
finally the act becomes habitual, the nervous impulse traverses only
lower centres, and therefore all feeling and indeed all consciousness
will disappear, as happens in the habitual movements of the limbs in
walking and of the arms during walking.

CLASSES OF FEELINGS

=Sensuous Feeling.=--As already noted, while feelings vary in intensity
according to the strength of the resistance, they also differ in kind
according to the arcs traversed by the impulse. Experiencing a burn on
the hand would involve nervous impulses, or currents, other than those
involved in hearing of the death of a friend. The one experience also
differs in feeling from the other. Our feeling states are thus able to
be divided into certain important classes with more or less distinct
characteristics for each. In one class are placed those feelings which
accompany sensory impulses. The sensations arising from the
stimulations of the sense organs, as a sweet or bitter taste, a strong
smell, the touch of a hot, sharp, rough, or smooth object, etc., all
present an affective, or feeling, side. So also feeling enters into the
general or organic sensations arising from the conditions of the bodily
organs; as breathing, the circulation of the blood, digestion, the
tension of the muscles, hunger, thirst, etc. The feeling which thus
enters as a factor into any sensation is known as sensuous feeling.

=Ideal Feeling.=--Other feelings enter into our ideas and thoughts. The
perception or imagination of an accident is accompanied with a painful
feeling, the memory or anticipation of success with a feeling of joy,
the thought of some particular person with a thrill of love. Such
feelings are known as ideal feelings. When a child tears his flesh on a
nail, he experiences sensuous feeling, when he shrinks away, as he
perceives the teeth of a snarling dog, he experiences an ideal feeling,
known as the emotion of fear.

=Interest.=--A third type of feeling especially accompanies an active
process of attention. In our study of attention, it was seen that any
process of attention is accompanied by a concentration of nervous energy
upon the paths or centres involved in the experience, thus organizing
the paths more completely and thereby decreasing the resistance. The
impulse to attend to any experience is, therefore, accompanied with a
desirable feeling, because a new adjustment between nerve centres is
taking place and resistance being overcome. This affective, or feeling,
tone which accompanies a process of attention is known as the feeling of
interest.

=Interest and Attention.=--In discussions upon educational method, it is
usually affirmed that the attention will focus upon a problem to the
extent to which the mind is interested. While this statement may be
accepted in ordinary language, it is not psychologically true that I
first become interested in a strange presentation, and then attend to it
afterwards. In such a case it is no more true to say that I attend
because I am interested, than to say that I am interested because I
attend. In other words, interest and attention are not successive but
simultaneous, or, as sometimes stated, they are back and front of the
same mental state. This becomes evident by noting the nervous conditions
which must accompany interest and attention. When one is attending to
any strange phenomenon, say a botanist to the structure of a rare plant,
it is evident that there are not only new groupings of ideas in the
mind, but also new adjustments being set up between the brain centres.
This implies in turn a lessening of resistance between the cells, and
therefore the presence of the feeling tone known as interest.

=Interest, Attention, and Habit.=--Since the impulse to attend to a
presentation is conditioned by a process of adjustment, or organization,
between brain centres, it is evident that, while the novel presentations
call forth interest and attention, repetition, by habituating the
nervous arcs, will tend to deaden interest and attention. For this
reason the story, first heard with interest and attention, becomes stale
by too much repetition. The new toy fails to interest the child after
the novelty has worn off. It must be noted, however, that while
repetition usually lessens interest, yet when any set of experiences are
repeated many times, instead of lessening interest the repetition may
develop a new interest known as the interest of custom. Thus it is that
by repeating the experience the man is finally compelled to visit his
club every evening, and the boy to play his favourite game every day.
This secondary interest of custom arises because repetition has finally
established such strong associations within the nervous system that they
now have become a part of our nature and are thus able to make a new
demand upon interest and attention.

INTEREST IN EDUCATION

=Uses of Term: A. Subjective; B. Objective.=--That the educator
describes interest as something that causes the mind to give attention
to what is before it, when in fact interest and attention are
psychologically merely two sides of a single process, is accounted for
by the fact that the term "interest" may be used with two quite
different meanings. Psychologically, interest is evidently a feeling
state, that is, it represents a phase of consciousness. My _interest_ in
football, for instance, represents the _feeling_ of worth which
accompanies attention to such experiences. In this sense interest and
attention are but two sides of the single experience, interest
representing the feeling, and attention the effort side of the
experience. As thus applied, the term interest is said to be used
subjectively. More, often, however, the term is applied rather to the
thing toward which the mind directs its attention, the object being said
to possess interest for the person. In this sense the rattle is said to
have interest for the babe; baseball, for the young boy; and the latest
fashions, for the young lady. Since the interest is here assumed to
reside in the object, it seems reasonable to say that our attention is
attracted through interest, that is, through an interesting
presentation. As thus applied, the term interest is said to be used
objectively.

=Types of Objective Interest.=--The interest which various objects and
occupations thus possess for the mind may be of two somewhat different
types. In some cases the object possesses a direct, or intrinsic,
interest for the mind. The young child, for instance, is spontaneously
attracted to bright colours, the boy to stories of adventure, and the
sentimental youth or maiden to the romance. In the case of any such
direct interests, however, the feeling with which the mind contemplates
the object may transfer itself at least partly to other objects
associated more or less closely with the direct object of interest. It
is thus that the child becomes interested in the cup from which his food
is taken, and the lover in the lap dog which his fair one fondles. As
opposed to the _direct interest_ which an object may have for the mind,
this transferred type is known as _indirect interest_.

=Importance of Transference of Interest.=--The ability of the mind thus
to transfer its interests to associated objects is often of great
pedagogical value. Abstract forms of knowledge become more interesting
to young children through being associated with something possessing
natural interest. A pupil who seems to take little interest in
arithmetic may take great delight in manual training. By associating
various mathematical problems with his constructive exercises, the
teacher can frequently cause the pupil to transfer in some degree his
primary interest in manual training to the associated work in
arithmetic. In the same way the child in the primary grade may take more
delight in the alphabet when he is able to make the letters in sand or
by stick-laying. It may be said, in fact, that much of man's effort is a
result of indirect interest. What is called doing a thing from a sense
of duty is often a case of applying ourselves to a certain thing because
we are interested in avoiding the disapproval of others. The child also
often applies himself to his tasks, not so much because he takes a
direct interest in them, but because he wishes to gain the approval and
avoid the censure of teacher and parents.

=Native and Acquired Interest.=--Interest may also be distinguished on
the basis of its origin. As noted above, certain impressions seem to
demand a spontaneous interest from the individual. For this cause the
child finds his attention going out immediately to bright colours, to
objects which give pleasure, such as candy, etc., or to that which
causes personal pain. On the other hand, objects and occupations which
at first seem devoid of interest may, after a certain amount of
experience has been gained, become important centres of interest. A
young child may at first show no interest in insects unless it be a
feeling of revulsion. Through the visit of an entomologist to his home,
however, he may gain some knowledge of insects. This knowledge, by
arousing an apperceptive tendency in the direction of insect study,
gradually develops in him a new interest which lasts throughout his
whole life. It is in this way that the various school subjects widen the
narrow interests of the child. By giving him an insight into various
phases of his social environment, the school curriculum awakens in him
different centres of interest, and thus causes him to become in the
truest sense a part of the social life about him. This fact is one of
the strongest arguments, also, against a narrow public school course of
study in a society which is itself a complex of diversified interests.

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