Browsing by Subject "tarkkaavaisuus"

The purpose of this study was to find out the kind of changes happening in directing and maintaining the attention of special class pupils while using dog assisted pedagogy. Attention can be divided into three elements i.e. directing the attention, maintaining it and changing its object. In this study I concentrated on the first two notions. Previous studies have shown that dog assisted intervention has positive effects on focusing attention. This is shown among other things in improved attentiveness while doing tasks. This master's thesis is a qualitative case study. The target group of this study consists of eight pupils in a special class in Finland. Each of them has clear features of attention deficit disorder. During the study the pupils were 7 to 8 years old. Collecting the data was carried out by observing the pupils with the help of an observation form and a video recording the material of pupils for three days. A trained education and rehabilitation dog was working in the classroom during two days and on one day it was out of the classroom. The analysis of the material was carried out as quantification. The research was focused on two aspects, getting the pupils' attention and keeping it in two different situations: with the dog present and without the dog in the classroom. According to the results of this study there are positive changes in shifting and maintaining the attention of the pupils when using dog assisted pedagogy. The pupils' ability to focus their attention immediately was increased by 12.2 per cent when the dog was present. In addition, in situations where attention was not targeted immediately, the delay in focusing the attention was reduced by 2.6 seconds. On the basis of analyzing the observation form maintaining attention was improved by 34 per cent and on the basis of the video material by 25.6 per cent when the dog was in the classroom. In addition, the attentiveness of the pupils was less frequently interrupted when the dog was present in the classroom. Based on this study it seems that dog assisted pedagogy has positive impacts on students' attentiveness.

Tavoitteet Ihmisen tarkkaavaisuus suuntautuu usein spontaanisti pois ulkoisista informaation lähteistä kohti omia ajatuksia, tuntemuksia tai kuvitelmia, jotka eivät liity ympäristön aistiärsykkeisiin. Ajatusten harhailuun painottuvien ajanjaksojen aikana aistiärsykkeiden prosessointiin liittyvän P300-vasteen amplitudi eli jännitevaste pienenee. Lisäksi on havaittu, että ulkoisen tehtävän vaatimustaso vaikuttaa ajatusten harhailuun. Tämä tutkimus selvitti i) harhailevatko ajatukset helppojen tehtävien aikana enemmän kuin vaikeiden, ii) millaisia ajatussisältöjä ajatusten harhailun aikana ilmenee sekä iii) miten ajatusten harhailu vaikuttaa ärsykeprosessointiin. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin, miten edellisestä kohdeärsykkeestä kulunut aika vaikuttaa ajatusten harhailuun ja P300-vasteen amplitudiin. Menetelmät Tutkimuksessa mitattiin aivosähkökäyrää (elektroenkefalografiaa, EEG) 28 henkilöltä (14 naiselta ja 14 mieheltä), joista enemmistö oli korkeakouluopiskelijoita. Koehenkilöiden ikä vaihteli välillä 22-36 (ka = 26 vuotta). Tutkimus koostui valintatehtävästä (helppo) ja työmuistitehtävästä (vaikea), jotka molemmat esitettiin koehenkilölle tietokoneen näytöllä. Koehenkilöiden ajatusten sisältöä mitattiin 10-osaisen Thought probe -kyselyn avulla, jota esitettiin tehtävien välissä. Tulokset Tulokset osoittivat, että helpossa tehtävässä tehtiin vähemmän virheitä ja vastausajat olivat nopeampia vaikeaan tehtävään verrattuna. Nämä tulokset vahvistivat, että tehtävän vaikeustason manipulaatio oli onnistunut. Ajatusten harhailua esiintyi vaikeiden tehtävien kohdalla vähemmän verrattuna helppoihin tehtäviin. Helpon tehtävätyypin aikana tehtäviin kohdistuvia ajatuksia esiintyi harvemmin. Vaikeiden tehtävien aikana koehenkilöiden ajatuksissa toistuivat tehtävän suoritukseen ja strategioihin liittyvät teemat. Ajatussisällöt jaettiin neljään komponenttiin, jotka olivat Episodisen sosiaalisen kognition komponentti, Tarkoituksellisen ajattelun komponentti, Mielikuvituksellinen komponentti ja Ruminaatio-komponentti. P300-vaste oli odotetusti voimakkaampi vaikeiden tehtävien kohdalla verrattuna helppoihin tehtäviin. Edellisestä kohdeärsykkeestä kuluneen ajan kasvaessa koehenkilöt alkoivat valmistautua seuraavan kohdeärsykkeen esiintymiseen. He kiinnittivät enemmän huomiota ärsykkeisiin, jotka esitettiin pidemmän kohdeärsykkeiden välillä esitettyjen (engl. non-target, NT) ärsykkeiden sarjan jälkeen. Koehenkilöt alkoivat keskittyä ärsykkeisiin vaikean tehtävätyypin kohdalla enemmän, kun NT-ärsykkeiden määrä kasvoi. Päinvastoin ajatusten harhailu lisääntyi helpon tehtävätyypin kohdalla sitä enemmän, mitä pidempään NT-ärsykkeitä esitettiin. Johtopäätökset Tulokset ovat yhteneväisiä tutkimuksen hypoteesien ja aiempien tutkimustulosten kanssa. Kognitiivisesti kevyemmissä tehtävissä ajatusten harhailua ilmeni enemmän kuin haastavammissa tehtävissä. Helppojen tehtävien aikana tehtäväsuuntautuneita ajatuksia raportoitiin vähemmän, kuin vaikeiden tehtävien aikana. Vaikka ajatussisältöjä ja jännitevasteita on kartoitettu ja mitattu erikseen jo aiemmin, ei vastaavaa yhdistelmätutkimusta, jossa selvitettiin sekä tehtävän vaikeuden että ajatussisältöjen vaikutusta jännitevasteisiin, ole vielä juurikaan tehty. Tarkkaavaisuus vaikuttaa olevan hyvin tilannesidonnaista ja ympäristöön mukautuvaa. Tulevissa tutkimuksissa voitaisiin selvittää, miten tilannesidonnainen tarkkaavaisuuden säätely mahdollisesti toimii esimerkiksi autoa ajaessa eri ympäristöissä.

Aims. The aim of the study was to find out the relations between attention, formal operational thought, psychological well-being and school achievement and choices of educational tracks. The thesis complements the study and modelling carried out by the Centre for Educational Assessment and Unit of Special Education of the University of Helsinki by adding psychological well-being to the model of attention, formal operational thought and future plans. Method. The data consisted of a sample of ninth graders from six comprehensive schools from a municipality in Eastern Finland. The size of the sample was N=287 of which girls 53% (ngirls=152) ja boys 47% (nboys=135. The data were gathered using a computer-assisted ACT-test, a multiple choice Formula-test and a BPNS-questionnaire. The data were analyzed using correlations, linear regression and general linear model (GLM) two-way analysis of variance. Results. Both girls' and boys' experience of competence and formal operational thought had a statistically significant relation between school achievement. Regarding girls, competence was a stronger explanatory variable than formal operational thought, whereas regarding boys formal operational thought was a stronger explanatory variable than competence. When girls' choices of educational tracks were examined it appeared that attention and competence were statistically significant explanatory variables regarding the choice of academic track. Boys' choices of the academic track could only be explained by competence. It also appeared that attention had a statistically significant correlation between formal operational thought which in turn was correlated with school achievement. This confirmed the assumption given by previous studies that attention has an indirect effect on school achievement via formal operational thought. The thesis is part of a study (attention, thinking skills, self-determination theory and school achievement) carried out by the Centre of Educational Assessment and Unit of Special Education of the University of Helsinki.

Expert performances and expertise are interesting topics from a layman’s as well as a researcher’s point of view. According to the expertise theory and the theory of achieving expert performance at least 10 years of regular and intensive practice is needed to reach the international top level and to attain an appreciated position in one’s own field. Besides practice also learning and attention enabling it are prerequisites for developing performances. Attention plays an important role in learning, and it has been tested at schools especially among young school children. The earlier studies examining the connection in question show that with the help of an attention concentration test the future school success of children can be estimated (e.g. Hotulainen, Thuneberg, Hautamäki, Vainikainen, 2014). In this study the racing drivers’ attention was measured by using the Attention Concentration Test (ACT) created by Ad van der Ven in 2005. In addition, their cognitive power of deduction was measured with the help of a Formula test dealing with topics of formula autosports. Furthermore, a comparison was made in order to see if there was any connection between the number of career practice days and the logical reasoning. The purpose of the study was to find out how the number of races and career practice days of the racing drivers affected their success in autosports, and to compare the results with the expertise theory. It was also studied how attention is connected with expert performance and success both in autosports and in school, and whether the number of career practice days in autosports have any impact on the results of the ACT test. Furthermore the racing drivers’ estimates of their own driving skills were compared with their success in racing. The AKK-Motorsport’s junior team group, who represent Finnish top level, was chosen as the target group of the study. Thirteen drivers aged 13 to 21 participated in the study with four of them racing in touring and formula series and nine in different karting series. The results gained in the study showed there was no significant connection between attention and success in school or racing. However, the number of career practice days had a statistically significant connection to success in racing. Those having driven more during their career succeeded better than those having driven less. In the Formula-themed test measuring the logical power of deduction the most experienced drivers succeeded best. The young racing drivers’ self-concept and awareness of their own strengths were more accurate when their estimates of their own driving skills were directly connected with their success in racing.

Objectives: The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a component of event-related potential reflecting a process where violations of regularities in auditory input are detected pre-attentively. In commonly used oddball- paradigm a repetitive standard stimulus is infrequently replaced by a deviant stimulus. Auditory deviance elicits MMN even in the absence of focused attention to stimuli. Automaticity of the MMN process has been an object of controversy due to limitations in methods used in most studies. Object of this study was to examine if potential attentional effects (suppression / enhancement) on MMN are similar or different to auditory stimuli violating regularities either physically or abstractly. Another goal was to examine if commonly used video-watching task can sufficiently keep attention directed away from the stimuli. Methods: Auditory stimuli was presented in an oddball paradigm. In physical stimuli blocks the deviant stimuli were higher in frequency compared to that of the standards. In abstract stimuli blocks the standard stimuli were tone pairs ascending in frequency, and deviant stimuli were descending tone pairs. Direction of attention was modulated by three conditions where subject’s task was to a) play a computer game (Tetris) b) watch a silent movie or c) focus on listening the stimuli and press a button to softer target deviants. Physical and abstract stimuli blocks were presented in each condition. Results: Both physical and abstract deviants elicited significant MMN in all three conditions. Direction of attention modulated by different tasks didn’t have a significant effect on amplitude of MMN elicited by physical and abstract deviants. Attention didn’t have any different effect on MMN regardless if it was elicited by stimuli violating regularities either physically or abstractly. Conclusions: The results of this study support the interpretation of MMN reflecting an automatic, attention- independent process where violations of regularities in auditory input are detected. Watching a silent movie seemed to sufficiently direct attention away from stimuli. Therefore video condition can be used as a primary task in future studies as well. Sometimes using a computer game similar to Tetris can be preferable since it might better uphold the arousal level of the subject.

Attention is known to play a major role in which stimuli become the content of our consciousness. However, there is no consensus about the interaction between attention and consciousness in the field, although several theories have been presented. This study explores the question of the connection between attention and consciousness. The subject was approached by delving into relevant literature, vast amounts of studies on the subject, and alternative interpretations. Different views were subjected to critical comparison in light of the general view formed by the material. A broader perspective was pursued by examining newer theories and by re-evaluating the evolutionary development of attention and consciousness. Defining the connection between consciousness and attention encountered numerous obstacles due to conflicting research findings. As a possible way of advance, relinquishing the definitions of attention and consciousness as uniform and distinct phenomena was suggested. In this light, neither the evolutionary adaptivity of consciousness or contradictory research findings seem as problematic.