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Pharmacological treatment of children with ADHD has been shown to be successful; however, medication may not normalize attention functions. The present study was based on a neuropsychological model of attention and assessed the effect of an attention training program on attentional functioning of children with ADHD. Thirty-two children with ADHD and 16 healthy children participated in the study. Children with ADHD were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions, i.e., an attention training program which trained aspects of vigilance, selective attention and divided attention, or a visual perception training which trained perceptual skills, such as perception of figure and ground, form constancy and position in space. The training programs were applied in individual sessions, twice a week, for a period of four consecutive weeks. Healthy children did not receive any training. Alertness, vigilance, selective attention, divided attention, and flexibility were examined prior to and following the interventions. Children with ADHD were assessed and trained while on ADHD medications. Data analysis revealed that the attention training used in the present study led to significant improvements of various aspects of attention, including vigilance, divided attention, and flexibility, while the visual perception training had no specific effects. The findings indicate that attention training programs have the potential to facilitate attentional functioning in children with ADHD treated with ADHD drugs.

Abstract. For learners, motivational regulation represents a daily challenge in terms of initiating, increasing and maintaining motivation. Crucial here is conditional knowledge about which motivational regulation strategies are appropriate for which specific motivational problems. This paper addresses the relationships between this type of strategy knowledge and regulatory effectiveness and characteristics of learning behavior. In a sample of 188 undergraduates, this strategy knowledge – assessed with a newly developed Situational Judgement Test – showed moderately positive correlations with motivational regulation on the behavioral level. Moreover, it was positively related to the effectiveness of motivational regulation and effort. Hence, conditional motivational regulation strategy knowledge is relevant and contributes to an extended understanding of motivational regulation in the higher education context.

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