Insights From Crossing Research Silos on Visual and Auditory Attention

Godwin, Karrie E.; Erickson, Lucy C.; Newman, Rochelle S.

doi:10.1177/0963721418807725

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Habituation rate is influenced by a variety of factors, including characteristics of the stimulus. For example, complex stimuli are thought to capture attention more readily and can yield slower habituation rates compared to more simple stimuli, although age can also affect the rate of habituation (e.g., Caron & Caron, 1968; for review and discussion, see Cohen & Cashon, 2003; Godwin, Erickson, & Newman, 2019; Kavšek, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children's Attention

et al. 2022

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Prior research suggests that visual features of the classroom environment (e.g., charts and posters) are potential sources of distraction hindering children's ability to maintain attention to instructional activities and reducing learning gains in a laboratory classroom. However, prior research only examined short‐term exposure to elements of classroom décor, and it remains unknown whether children habituate to the visual environment with repeated exposure. In study 1, we explored experimentally the possibility that children may habituate to the visual environment if the visual displays are static. We measured kindergarten children's patterns of attention allocation in a decorated classroom environment over a 2‐week period and compared the percentage of time children spent off‐task to a baseline condition in which the classroom environment was streamlined (i.e., charts, posters, and manipulatives were removed). The findings indicate that with more prolonged exposure to a static visual environment, partial habitation effects were observed: Attention to the environment declined at the end of the exposure period compared to the beginning of the study; however, the environment remained a significant source of off‐task behavior even after 2 weeks of exposure. In study 2, we extend this work by conducting a longitudinal observation of six primary classrooms in which we measured children's patterns of attention allocation in real classrooms for 15 weeks to investigate whether increasing familiarity with the classroom décor would influence attention toward the visual environment. No evidence of habituation was observed in genuine classrooms in study 2. Potential implications for classroom design and future directions are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children's Attention

et al. 2022

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“…Additional research is needed to determine whether electronic toys disrupt play-based language learning opportunities in other ways. The background noise introduced by electronic toys may make it more difficult for children to understand spoken language, especially when it incorporates speech or other rhythmic sounds (Baker and Holding, 1993;Kirkorian et al, 2009;McMillan and Saffran, 2016;Erickson and Newman, 2017;Godwin et al, 2018;McAuley et al, 2020McAuley et al, , 2021. In addition, the salient visual features of electronic toys, such as flashing lights, may compete with other relevant aspects of the child's visual environment (Radesky and Christakis, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development

Venker

Johnson²

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have language delays. Play-based interactions present a rich, naturalistic context for supporting language and communication development, but electronic toys may compromise the quality of play interactions. This study examined how electronic toys impact the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language produced by children with ASD and age-matched children with typical development (TD), compared to traditional toys without electronic features. Twenty-eight parent-child dyads (14 per group) played with both electronic and traditional toy sets in a counter-balanced order. We transcribed child speech during both play sessions and derived the number of utterances and number of different word (NDW) roots per minute that children produced. Children with ASD and children with TD talked significantly less and produced significantly fewer unique words during electronic toy play than traditional toy play. In this way, children appear to take a “backseat” to electronic toys, decreasing their communicative contributions to play-based social interactions with their parents. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how toy type can affect parent-child play interactions and the subsequent learning opportunities that may be created. Play-based interventions for children with ASD may be most effective when they incorporate traditional toys, rather than electronic toys.

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“…Most investigators agree that the ability to control attention improves with age. Reviews have focused on further questions: distinguishing the relatively late development of executive attention from earlier-developing, stimulus-driven forms of attention (Rueda, 2013); development of attention as part of a dynamic system rather than as a static gatekeeper (Ristic & Enns, 2015); similarities and differences between auditory and visual attention (Godwin et al, 2019); and the importance of both interference and redundancy between modalities (Bahrick & Lickliter, 2014). There has been recent research on the developmental trajectory of sustained attention (Betts et al, 2006) and of the ability to allocate and share attention (Irwin-Chase & Burns, 2000), as well as on the relation of practical and social functioning to working memory loads and attention (Doebel, 2020; Hilton et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental change in the nature of attention allocation in a dual task.

Cowan¹,

AuBuchon²,

Gilchrist³

et al. 2021

Developmental Psychology

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Younger children have more difficulty in sharing attention between two concurrent tasks than do older participants, but in addition to this developmental change, we documented changes in the nature of attention sharing. We studied children 6 -8 and 10 -14 years old and college students (in all, 104 women and 76 men; 3% Hispanic, 3% Black or African American, 3% Asian, 7% multiracial, and 84% White). On each dual-task trial, the participant received an array of colored squares to be retained for a subsequent probe recognition test and then an easy or more difficult signal requiring a quick response (a speeded task, clicking a key on the same side of the screen as the signal or the opposite side). Finally, each trial ended with the presentation of the array item recognition probe and the participant's response to it. In our youngest age group (6 -8 years), array memory was often displaced by the speeded task performed under load, especially when it was the opposite-side task, but speeded-task accuracies were unaffected by the presence of an array memory load. In contrast, in older participants (10 -14 years and college students), the memory load was maintained better, with some cost to the speeded task. With maturity, participants were better able to adopt a proactive stance in which not only present processing demands but also upcoming demands were taken into account, allowing them to balance the demands of the two tasks.

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Insights From Crossing Research Silos on Visual and Auditory Attention

Cited by 6 publications

References 45 publications

Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children's Attention

Effect of Repeated Exposure to the Visual Environment on Young Children's Attention

Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development

Developmental change in the nature of attention allocation in a dual task.

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