The relationship between sustained attention and cognitive performance in 17-24-month old toddlers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate individual differences in sustained attention and task performance with toddlers. Participants were 61 17 -24-month old toddlers. Indices of sustained attention (duration of attention and frequency of off-task glances) were assessed during two 4 min problem solving tasks, and then related to problem solving and the mental scale of the Bayley scales of infant development-II (BSID-II). As expected, toddlers who attended to tasks for longer periods of time were more successful at problem solving, and had higher scores on the BSID-II than toddlers who attended for shorter periods of time. In addition, older toddlers had longer attention spans, more frequent off-task glances, and were more successful at problem solving than younger toddlers. Interestingly, toddlers with more frequent off-task glances had longer attention spans, were more successful at problem solving, and had higher BSID-II scores than peers with fewer off-task glances. These findings suggest that although behavioural indices can be used to identify sustained attention, the relationship between behaviours thought to capture distractibility and attention is more complex than had been previously assumed. Results are discussed in the context of current theories of infant attention and cognitive performance. The ability to sustain attention has been shown to be associated with cognitive task performance with adults and school-aged children (Hunt and Lansman, 1986;Hamlett et al.investigate the relationship between individual differences in sustained attention and performance on cognitive tasks in children between the ages of 17 and 24 months. More specifically, we investigate whether the ability to sustain attention while engaged in two problem solving tasks predicts performance on the same two tasks, and whether it is related to performance on independent measures of cognitive skills.Attention refers to a complex set of physiological and behavioural responses to environmental stimuli. The purpose of attention is to direct cognitive resources to events or situations with the intention of gathering information about the event (Case

The impact of dialogic book‐sharing training on infant language and attention: a randomized controlled trial in a deprived South African community

“…The training group, in contrast, evidenced an improvement in attention that was both reliable and substantial. This is especially significant in light of the fact that measures of sustained attention in infancy have been found to be strong predictors of later cognitive performance and IQ (Choudhury & Gorman, 2000; Slater, 1995). …”

Executive function in the first three years of life: Precursors, predictors and patterns

“…In addition, it appears that individual differences in control of attention show only moderate stability across the second year of life (Choudhury & Gorman, 2000;Gaertner, Spinrad & Eisenberg, 2008;Putnam, Gartstein & Rothbart, 2006;Power, Chapieski & McGrath, 1985. This limited stability may be caused by methodological issues in the measurement of attentional control (see the section below on Measuring focused attention) and/or the moderating effect of environmental and temperament factors.…”

“…Laboratory observations have demonstrated only moderate stability in individual differences in focused attention between tasks and across the second year of life (Choudhury & Gorman, 2000;Gaertner et al, 2008;Power et al, 1985). One reason for this is that researchers often attempt to capture it within free play settings, in which behaviour is not always goal-directed.…”

Associations among family environment, sustained attention, and school readiness for low-income children.

“…Although there are multiple components of school readiness (Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995), we focus on cognition and behavior because they are associated with both family environment and attention, and because their status at school entry strongly predicts school success and antisocial behavior later in life (Ensminger & Slusarick, 1992; Feinstein & Bynner, 2004; Moffitt, Caspi, Rutter, & Silva, 2001). In particular, we assess receptive vocabulary because it serves as a proxy for general cognitive ability, which is associated with focused attention (Choudhury & Gorman, 2000), one of our two facets of attention. Likewise, we examine externalizing behavior (rather than internalizing or prosocial behavior) because it requires the restraint of impulsivity, the other component of attention in this study.…”