Voluntary and automatic orienting of attention during childhood development
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
;
6(1): 15-21, Jan.-June 2013. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-687848
ABSTRACT
Selective attention directs cognitive resources to relevant objects or events through either voluntary (top-down) or automatic (bottom-up) control. This paper analyzes voluntary and automatic orienting of attention during childhood development. Seventy-four children (6 to 10 years old) were asked to press a key in response to a visual target presented in a previously oriented position (voluntary orienting; Experiment 1) or after a peripheral unpredictable cue (automatic orienting; Experiment 2). A systematic reduction of reaction times was observed in older children in both experiments. For automatic orienting in Experiment 2, reaction times were shorter in the ipsilateral condition than in the contralateral condition. However, for older children, the differences in reaction times between these conditions decreased. This may be attributable to the appearance of Inhibition of Return as a result of the maturation of the attentional system derived from childhood development, which contributes to more effective exploration of the environment.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Photic Stimulation
/
Reaction Time
/
Attention
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
Journal subject:
Neurology
/
Psychology
Year:
2013
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie/BR
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