1
|
Pupillometry as a Window into Young Children's Sustained Attention. J Intell 2022; 10:jintelligence10040107. [PMID: 36412787 PMCID: PMC9680391 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10040107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sustained attention is critical to cognition, social competence, and academic success. Importantly, sustained attention undergoes significant development over the early childhood period. Yet, how sustained attention fluctuates over time on task has not been clearly outlined, particularly in young children. In this study, we provide a first test of whether the pupillary response can be used as an indicator of moment-to-moment sustained attention over time on task in young children. Children aged 5 to 7 years (N = 41) completed a psychomotor vigilance task, where they were asked to press a button as fast as possible at the onset of a target stimulus. We measured reaction times over the course of the task, pupil size prior to target onset (baseline pupil size), and pupil size in response to target onset (task-evoked pupil size). The results showed a stereotypical vigilance decrement in children's response times: as time on task increased, reaction times increased. Critically, children's task-evoked pupil size decreased over time on task, while no such change was present in baseline pupil size. These results suggest that young children's waning sustained attention may be linked to a decrease in alertness while overall arousal is maintained. We discuss the importance of leveraging pupillometry to understand the mechanisms of sustained attention over individuals and development.
Collapse
|
2
|
Phillips BM, Oliver F, Willis KB. Engaging, Explicit, and Elaborated: An Initial Trial of Media-Enhanced Preschool Vocabulary Instruction. TOPICS IN LANGUAGE DISORDERS 2022; 42:304-318. [PMID: 36865985 PMCID: PMC9974156 DOI: 10.1097/tld.0000000000000297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Children from backgrounds of poverty often lag behind more advantaged peers in early language skills, including breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge. We report the results of a pilot study of an explicit and elaborated vocabulary intervention in preschool classrooms serving children from lower-income backgrounds. The intervention used multimodal instruction, including segments from public television children's programs and interactive games, to build children's knowledge of and semantic connections for 128 words across 18 weeks of daily lessons. Within 39 classrooms representing childcare, Head Start, and public prekindergarten settings, 192 preschool-age children (M = 52.10 months) participated in structured lessons and extension activities delivered by teachers and aides. Within-child comparisons of growth for taught target words versus matched untaught words revealed that children grew on all words but demonstrated significantly greater growth for taught words. Results support the value of elaborated and explicit vocabulary instruction and the role of visual media as contexts for preschooler's word learning.
Collapse
|
3
|
Jacob US, Pillay J, Oyefeso EO. Attention Span of Children With Mild Intellectual Disability: Does Music Therapy and Pictorial Illustration Play Any Significant Role? Front Psychol 2021; 12:677703. [PMID: 34046000 PMCID: PMC8147688 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.677703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of music therapy and pictorial illustration on the attention span of children with mild intellectual difficulties. A pre-test, post-test and control group quasi-experimental research design was used with a sample of children diagnosed with mild intellectual disability from three special schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. Fifty children were randomly selected and assigned to one of three groups: music therapy, pictorial illustration, or control (N = 50, male = 25, female = 25, mean age = 11.6 years). Twenty-four sessions of music therapy and pictorial illustration classes were held with the experimental group only. The Moss Attention Rating Scale was used before and after the intervention to collect data on participants’ attention span. Analysis of Covariance indicated that there was a significant statistical difference between pre-test and post-test results of the two groups. The estimated marginal means of post-attention span by treatment indicated that pictorial illustration had the highest post-attention span score, followed by music therapy, while post-attention span score for the control group was the least. Based on the findings, it is recommended that teachers, caregivers, and parents of children with mild intellectual disability adopt pictorial illustration and music therapy as teaching strategies to enhance their attention span.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Udeme Samuel Jacob
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, South African Research Chair: Education and Care in Childhood, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Jace Pillay
- South African Research Chair in Education and Care in Childhood, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Esther Olufunke Oyefeso
- Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Mallory C, Keehn B. Implications of Sensory Processing and Attentional Differences Associated With Autism in Academic Settings: An Integrative Review. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:695825. [PMID: 34512416 PMCID: PMC8430329 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.695825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The impact of classroom environments on student engagement and academic performance is well-documented. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical sensory processing and attentional impairments, which may lead to challenges in successfully accessing educational material within these settings. These symptoms may help explain why students with ASD show discrepancies between intellectual ability and academic performance. Given the increasing number of students with ASD present in classrooms, understanding strengths and weaknesses in sensory processing and attention is necessary in order to design better classroom environments and develop more efficacious accommodations and interventions to support optimal student success. Therefore, the objectives of this review are to provide a brief review of the current literature on sensory processing and attention in ASD, survey how sensory and attentional functions affect academic outcomes in both neurotypical and ASD learners, and suggest potential accommodations/interventions for students with ASD based on these findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Courtney Mallory
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Brandon Keehn
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.,Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lin X. Investigating the Unique Predictors of Word-Problem Solving Using Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10648-020-09554-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
|
6
|
Yang X, Meng X. Visual Processing Matters in Chinese Reading Acquisition and Early Mathematics. Front Psychol 2020; 11:462. [PMID: 32296366 PMCID: PMC7141237 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether visual processing uniquely contributed to character reading and early mathematics in Chinese children. Eighty-two Chinese kindergarteners at K3 (mean age = 68 months, SD = 0.30) were followed up to grade one (mean age = 82 months, SD = 0.35) with an interval of 14 months. Nonverbal intelligence, inhibitory control, sustained attention, character reading, and mathematics were measured at kindergarten. Character reading and mathematics were assessed again at grade one. Results showed visual processing at kindergarten significantly predicted character reading at grade one after controlling for prior reading performance, inhibitory control, sustained attention, age, gender, and nonverbal IQ. Similarly, visual processing at kindergarten explained unique variance in early mathematics at grade one when prior mathematics performance and other covariates at kindergarten were controlled. These findings suggest that visual processing should serve as a domain-general precursor of children's performance in character reading and early mathematics and an important cognitive factor for later academic learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiujie Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangzhi Meng
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavioral and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
- PekingU-PolyU Center for Child Development and Learning, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Faught GG, Conners FA. Modeling the Relations Among Sustained Attention, Short-Term Memory, and Language in Down Syndrome. AMERICAN JOURNAL ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 124:293-308. [PMID: 31199686 DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-124.4.293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Sustained attention (SA) and short-term memory (STM) contribute to language function in Down syndrome (DS). We proposed models in which relations of SA to language in DS are mediated by STM. Thirty-seven youth with DS aged 10-22 years (M = 15.59) completed SA, STM, and language tasks. Cross-sectional mediation analyses were run with the bootstrapping method. We found significant indirect effects of SA separately on vocabulary and syntax through auditory STM with point estimates of -.30 and -.31, respectively. Results suggest lapses in SA compromise auditory STM, which in turn impacts vocabulary and syntax in youth with DS; however, further research is needed to confirm causality. Addressing SA and STM in language therapy with youth with DS could lead to improved outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gayle G Faught
- Gayle G. Faught, University of South Carolina Aiken; and Frances A. Conners, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
| | - Frances A Conners
- Gayle G. Faught, University of South Carolina Aiken; and Frances A. Conners, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Yang X, Peng P, Meng X. Contributions of Basic Cognitive Processing to Chinese Reading: The Mediation Effect of Basic Language Processing. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2670. [PMID: 30671004 PMCID: PMC6331404 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior research has mostly focused on either basic language or basic cognitive precursors of reading development, but relatively little is known about their relative importance for reading, especially for Chinese beginning readers. The present study examined whether and how basic cognitive processing (executive function, attention, and visual-spatial perception) and basic language processing (phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic awareness, and RAN) measured at kindergarten influence Chinese character reading and reading comprehension in the first grade. Results showed that basic language abilities including morphological awareness and rapid automatized naming predicted later Chinese character reading. Only one basic cognitive skill, sustained attention, predicted later reading comprehension. Mediation analysis showed that the overall effects of basic cognitive skills on later character reading and reading comprehension were mediated by basic language skills. These findings supported an integration reading model for early Chinese reading and basic language processing at kindergarten plays an important role in explaining the relation between basic cognitive processing and grade one reading performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiujie Yang
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Peng Peng
- Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Xiangzhi Meng
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavioral and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Rutherford T, Buschkuehl M, Jaeggi SM, Farkas G. Links between achievement, executive functions, and self-regulated learning. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
10
|
Peng P, Yang X, Meng X. The relation between approximate number system and early arithmetic: The mediation role of numerical knowledge. J Exp Child Psychol 2017; 157:111-124. [PMID: 28142096 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
We investigated whether the approximate number system (ANS) was related to arithmetic among kindergartners and the mechanism underlying this possible relation. Specifically, we examined whether numerical knowledge mediated the possible relation between the ANS and arithmetic after controlling for potential confounding cognitive variables. Results showed that the ANS was moderately related with early arithmetic (r=.36-.37). After controlling for age, IQ, visual attention, working memory, visuospatial processing, and inhibition, numerical knowledge demonstrated a medium mediation effect (k2=.09) on the relation between the ANS and arithmetic. Our findings suggest the importance of the ANS in early arithmetic and support the numerical knowledge mediation hypothesis. That is, numerical knowledge plays a more important role than visuospatial processing and inhibition in explaining the relation between the ANS and early arithmetic. Implications of these findings for early arithmetic instructions are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peng Peng
- Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
| | - Xiujie Yang
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China; School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavioral and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiangzhi Meng
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavioral and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PekingU-PolyU Center for Child Development and Learning, Beijing 100871, China.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Blums A, Belsky J, Grimm K, Chen Z. Building Links Between Early Socioeconomic Status, Cognitive Ability, and Math and Science Achievement. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2016.1228652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|