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Kim J, Singh S, Vales C, Keebler E, Fisher AV, Thiessen ED. Staying and Returning dynamics of young children's attention. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13410. [PMID: 37211716 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we decompose selective sustained attending behavior into components of continuous attention maintenance and attentional transitions and study how each of these components develops in young children. Our results in two experiments suggest that changes in children's ability to return attention to a target locus after distraction ("Returning") play a crucial role in the development of selective sustained attention between the ages of 3.5-6 years, perhaps to a greater extent than changes in the ability to continuously maintain attention on the target ("Staying"). We further distinguish Returning from the behavior of transitioning attention away from task (i.e., becoming distracted) and investigate the relative contributions of bottom-up and top-down factors on these different types of attentional transitions. Overall, these results (a) suggest the importance of understanding the cognitive process of transitioning attention for understanding selective sustained attention and its development, (b) provide an empirical paradigm within which to study this process, and (c) begin to characterize basic features of this process, namely its development and its relative dependence on top-down and bottom-up influences on attention. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Young children exhibited an endogenously ability, Returning, to preferentially transition attention to task-relevant information over task-irrelevant information. Selective sustained attention and its development were decomposed into Returning and Staying, or task-selective attention maintenance, using novel eye-tracking-based measures. Returning improved between the ages of 3.5-6 years, to a greater extent than Staying. Improvements in Returning supported improvements in selective sustained attention between these ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeah Kim
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Shashank Singh
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Catarina Vales
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Emily Keebler
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anna V Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Erik D Thiessen
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Weise A, Hartmann T, Parmentier F, Weisz N, Ruhnau P. Involuntary shifts of spatial attention contribute to distraction-Evidence from oscillatory alpha power and reaction time data. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14353. [PMID: 37246813 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Imagine you are focusing on the traffic on a busy street to ride your bike safely when suddenly you hear the siren of an ambulance. This unexpected sound involuntarily captures your attention and interferes with ongoing performance. We tested whether this type of distraction involves a spatial shift of attention. We measured behavioral data and magnetoencephalographic alpha power during a cross-modal paradigm that combined an exogenous cueing task and a distraction task. In each trial, a task-irrelevant sound preceded a visual target (left or right). The sound was usually the same animal sound (i.e., standard sound). Rarely, it was replaced by an unexpected environmental sound (i.e., deviant sound). Fifty percent of the deviants occurred on the same side as the target, and 50% occurred on the opposite side. Participants responded to the location of the target. As expected, responses were slower to targets that followed a deviant compared to a standard. Crucially, this distraction effect was mitigated by the spatial relationship between the targets and the deviants: responses were faster when targets followed deviants on the same versus different side, indexing a spatial shift of attention. This was further corroborated by a posterior alpha power modulation that was higher in the hemisphere ipsilateral (vs. contralateral) to the location of the attention-capturing deviant. We suggest that this alpha power lateralization reflects a spatial attention bias. Overall, our data support the contention that spatial shifts of attention contribute to deviant distraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annekathrin Weise
- CCNS and Division of Physiological Psychology, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Hartmann
- CCNS and Division of Physiological Psychology, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Fabrice Parmentier
- Neuropsychology & Cognition Group, Department of Psychology and Institute of Health Sciences (iUNICS), University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
- Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), Palma, Spain
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Nathan Weisz
- CCNS and Division of Physiological Psychology, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Philipp Ruhnau
- School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
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3
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Gustafson SJ, Nelson L, Silcox JW. Effect of Auditory Distractors on Speech Recognition and Listening Effort. Ear Hear 2023; 44:1121-1132. [PMID: 36935395 PMCID: PMC10440215 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Everyday listening environments are filled with competing noise and distractors. Although significant research has examined the effect of competing noise on speech recognition and listening effort, little is understood about the effect of distraction. The framework for understanding effortful listening recognizes the importance of attention-related processes in speech recognition and listening effort; however, it underspecifies the role that they play, particularly with respect to distraction. The load theory of attention predicts that resources will be automatically allocated to processing a distractor, but only if perceptual load in the listening task is low enough. If perceptual load is high (i.e., listening in noise), then resources that would otherwise be allocated to processing a distractor are used to overcome the increased perceptual load and are unavailable for distractor processing. Although there is ample evidence for this theory in the visual domain, there has been little research investigating how the load theory of attention may apply to speech processing. In this study, we sought to measure the effect of distractors on speech recognition and listening effort and to evaluate whether the load theory of attention can be used to understand a listener's resource allocation in the presence of distractors. DESIGN Fifteen adult listeners participated in a monosyllabic words repetition task. Test stimuli were presented in quiet or in competing speech (+5 dB signal-to-noise ratio) and in distractor or no distractor conditions. In conditions with distractors, auditory distractors were presented before the target words on 24% of the trials in quiet and in noise. Percent-correct was recorded as speech recognition, and verbal response time (VRT) was recorded as a measure of listening effort. RESULTS A significant interaction was present for speech recognition, showing reduced speech recognition when distractors were presented in the quiet condition but no effect of distractors when noise was present. VRTs were significantly longer when distractors were present, regardless of listening condition. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with the load theory of attention, distractors significantly reduced speech recognition in the low-perceptual load condition (i.e., listening in quiet) but did not impact speech recognition scores in conditions of high perceptual load (i.e., listening in noise). The increases in VRTs in the presence of distractors in both low- and high-perceptual load conditions (i.e., quiet and noise) suggest that the load theory of attention may not apply to listening effort. However, the large effect of distractors on VRT in both conditions is consistent with the previous work demonstrating that distraction-related shifts of attention can delay processing of the target task. These findings also fit within the framework for understanding effortful listening, which proposes that involuntary attentional shifts result in a depletion of cognitive resources, leaving less resources readily available to process the signal of interest; resulting in increased listening effort (i.e., elongated VRT).
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha J Gustafson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Loren Nelson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Jack W Silcox
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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Blinkoff E, Nesbitt KT, Golinkoff RM, Hirsh-Pasek K. Investigating the contributions of active, playful learning to student interest and educational outcomes. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 238:103983. [PMID: 37473668 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of evidence from the science of learning demonstrates the educational effectiveness of active, playful learning. Connections are emerging between this pedagogy and the broad set of skills that it promotes in learners, but potential mechanisms behind these relations remain unexplored. This paper offers a commentary based on the science of learning and interest development literature, suggesting that interest may mediate the relation between active, playful learning and student outcomes. This theory is established by identifying principles of active, playful learning that predict interest development and associations between learner interest and key skills for success in the classroom and beyond. Future research should investigate the dynamic relation between active, playful learning, interest, and student achievement over time and across phases of interest while taking a broader set of student outcomes into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Blinkoff
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University, Weiss Hall 1701 N. 13(th) St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
| | - Kimberly T Nesbitt
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of New Hampshire, Pettee Hall 55 College Rd., Durham, NH 03824, USA.
| | | | - Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University, Weiss Hall 1701 N. 13(th) St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA; The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA.
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Bonmassar C, Scharf F, Widmann A, Wetzel N. On the relationship of arousal and attentional distraction by emotional novel sounds. Cognition 2023; 237:105470. [PMID: 37150156 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Unexpected and task-irrelevant sounds can impair performance in a task. It has been shown that highly arousing emotional distractor sounds impaired performance less compared to moderately arousing neutral distractor sounds. The present study tests whether these differential emotion-related distraction effects are directly related to an enhancement of arousal evoked by processing of emotional distractor sounds. We disentangled costs of orienting of attention and benefits of increased arousal levels during the presentation of highly arousing emotional and moderately arousing neutral novel sounds that were embedded in a sequence of repeated standard sounds. We used sound-related pupil dilation responses as a marker of arousal and RTs as a marker of distraction in a visual categorization task in 57 healthy young adults. Multilevel analyses revealed increased RT and increased pupil dilation in response to novel vs. standard sounds. Emotional novel sounds reduced distraction effects on the behavioral level and increased pupil dilation responses compared to neutral novel sounds. Bayes Factors revealed strong evidence against an inverse proportional relationship between behavioral distraction effects and sound-related pupil dilation responses for emotional sounds. Given that the activity of the locus coeruleus has been linked to both changes in pupil diameter and arousal, it may embody an indirect relationship as a common antecedent by the release of norepinephrine into brain networks involved in attention control and control of the pupil. The present study provides new insights into the relation of changes in arousal and attentional distraction during the processing of emotional task-irrelevant novel sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andreas Widmann
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Leipzig University, Germany
| | - Nicole Wetzel
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences Magdeburg, Germany; University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-, Stendal, Germany
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Hoyer RS, Pakulak E, Bidet-Caulet A, Karns CM. Relationships among age, socioeconomic status, and distractibility in preschoolers as assessed by the Competitive Attention Test. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 227:105584. [PMID: 36413871 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In children, the ability to attend to relevant auditory information and ignore distracting information is crucial for learning and educational achievement. Distractibility, the propensity to pay attention to irrelevant information, depends on multiple components of cognition (voluntary attention orienting, sustained attention, distraction resulting from the capture of attention by a distractor, phasic arousal, impulsivity, and motor control) that may mature at different ages. Here, we used the Competitive Attention Test (CAT) to measure these components in children aged 3 to 5 years. Our goal was to characterize changes in the efficiency of attention during the preschool period and to determine whether distractibility varies as a function of socioeconomic status (SES). All 3-year-olds (n = 14) and some 4- and 5-year-olds (n = 21) needed to be excluded from the sample due to noncompliance with instructions, suggesting that the CAT might not be suitable for children with poorly developed skills in sustained attention. Among 4- and 5-year-olds who completed the CAT (n = 71), sustained attention improved with age, whereas voluntary attention orienting remained immature. Independent of age, task-irrelevant sounds induced distraction, phasic arousal, and impulsivity. There was no relationship between SES and children's distraction. Finally, children from lower SES backgrounds showed reduced sustained attention abilities and increased impulsivity. Taken together, these findings suggest that distractibility is still developing during the preschool period and is likely to vary depending on the SES background of a child's family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxane S Hoyer
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, 69000 Lyon, France.
| | - Eric Pakulak
- Department of Child and Youth Studies, Stockholm University, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Aurélie Bidet-Caulet
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, 69000 Lyon, France
| | - Christina M Karns
- Center on Brain Injury Research and Training, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
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Lemaire P, Lee K. How do distracting events influence children's arithmetic performance? J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 225:105531. [PMID: 35988358 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
To understand how distraction influences children's arithmetic performance, we examined effects of irrelevant sounds on children's performance while they solve arithmetic problems. Third and fifth graders were asked to verify true/false, one-digit addition problems (e.g., 9 + 4 = 12. True? False?) under silence and sound conditions. The sounds began when the problems started to appear on the screen (Experiment 1; N = 76) or slightly after (Experiment 2; N = 92) and continued until participants responded. The results showed that (a) children solved arithmetic problems more quickly in the sound condition than in the silence condition when the sounds started with problem display (phasic arousal effects); (b) children were slower on the arithmetic problem verification task when the sounds was played slightly after the problems started to appear on the screen (distraction effects); (c) phasic arousal effects were found only in third graders, whereas distraction effects were found in both grades, although their magnitudes were smaller in fifth graders; (d) distraction effects increased with increasing latencies in third graders but did not change across the entire latency distribution in fifth graders; and (e) distraction effects on current trials were smaller after sound trials than after silence trials in both age groups (sequential modulations of distraction effects). These findings have important implications for furthering our understanding of effects of irrelevant sounds on arithmetic performance as well as cognitive processes involved in children's arithmetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Lemaire
- Laboratoire de psychologie cognitive (LPC), Aix-Marseille Université, and Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), 13331 Marseille, France.
| | - Kerry Lee
- Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Irrelevant speech impairs serial recall of verbal but not spatial items in children and adults. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:307-320. [PMID: 36190658 PMCID: PMC9950248 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01359-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Immediate serial recall of visually presented items is reliably impaired by task-irrelevant speech that the participants are instructed to ignore ("irrelevant speech effect," ISE). The ISE is stronger with changing speech tokens (words or syllables) when compared to repetitions of single tokens ("changing-state effect," CSE). These phenomena have been attributed to sound-induced diversions of attention away from the focal task (attention capture account), or to specific interference of obligatory, involuntary sound processing with either the integrity of phonological traces in a phonological short-term store (phonological loop account), or the efficiency of a domain-general rehearsal process employed for serial order retention (changing-state account). Aiming to further explore the role of attention, phonological coding, and serial order retention in the ISE, we analyzed the effects of steady-state and changing-state speech on serial order reconstruction of visually presented verbal and spatial items in children (n = 81) and adults (n = 80). In the verbal task, both age groups performed worse with changing-state speech (sequences of different syllables) when compared with steady-state speech (one syllable repeated) and silence. Children were more impaired than adults by both speech sounds. In the spatial task, no disruptive effect of irrelevant speech was found in either group. These results indicate that irrelevant speech evokes similarity-based interference, and thus pose difficulties for the attention-capture and the changing-state account of the ISE.
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Leist L, Breuer C, Yadav M, Fremerey S, Fels J, Raake A, Lachmann T, Schlittmeier SJ, Klatte M. Differential Effects of Task-Irrelevant Monaural and Binaural Classroom Scenarios on Children's and Adults' Speech Perception, Listening Comprehension, and Visual-Verbal Short-Term Memory. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:15998. [PMID: 36498071 PMCID: PMC9738007 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192315998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Most studies investigating the effects of environmental noise on children's cognitive performance examine the impact of monaural noise (i.e., same signal to both ears), oversimplifying multiple aspects of binaural hearing (i.e., adequately reproducing interaural differences and spatial information). In the current study, the effects of a realistic classroom-noise scenario presented either monaurally or binaurally on tasks requiring processing of auditory and visually presented information were analyzed in children and adults. In Experiment 1, across age groups, word identification was more impaired by monaural than by binaural classroom noise, whereas listening comprehension (acting out oral instructions) was equally impaired in both noise conditions. In both tasks, children were more affected than adults. Disturbance ratings were unrelated to the actual performance decrements. Experiment 2 revealed detrimental effects of classroom noise on short-term memory (serial recall of words presented pictorially), which did not differ with age or presentation mode (monaural vs. binaural). The present results add to the evidence for detrimental effects of noise on speech perception and cognitive performance, and their interactions with age, using a realistic classroom-noise scenario. Binaural simulations of real-world auditory environments can improve the external validity of studies on the impact of noise on children's and adults' learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Leist
- Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Unit, Center for Cognitive Science, Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Carolin Breuer
- Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Manuj Yadav
- Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Stephan Fremerey
- Audiovisual Technology Group, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
| | - Janina Fels
- Institute for Hearing Technology and Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexander Raake
- Audiovisual Technology Group, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
| | - Thomas Lachmann
- Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Unit, Center for Cognitive Science, Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
- Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Facultad de Lenguas y Educacion, Universidad Nebrija, 28015 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sabine J. Schlittmeier
- Teaching and Research Area of Work and Engineering Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, 52066 Aachen, Germany
| | - Maria Klatte
- Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Unit, Center for Cognitive Science, Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
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Debnath R, Wetzel N. Processing of task-irrelevant sounds during typical everyday activities in children. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22331. [PMID: 36282761 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Our ability to focus on a task and ignore task-irrelevant stimuli is critical for efficient cognitive functioning. Attention control is especially required in the auditory modality as sound has privileged access to perception and consciousness. Despite this important function, little is known about auditory attention during typical everyday activities in childhood. We investigated the impact of task-irrelevant sounds on attention during three everyday activities - playing a game, reading a book, watching a movie. During these activities, environmental novel sounds were presented within a sequence of standard sounds to 7-8-year-old children and adults. We measured ERPs reflecting early sound processing and attentional orienting and theta power evoked by standard and novel sounds during these activities. Playing a game versus reading or watching reduced early encoding of sounds in children and affected ongoing information processing and attention allocation in both groups. In adults, theta power was reduced during playing at mid-central brain areas. Results show a pattern of immature neuronal mechanisms underlying perception and attention of task-irrelevant sounds in 7-8-year-old children. While the type of activity affected the processing of irrelevant sounds in both groups, early stimulus encoding processes were more sensitive to the type of activities in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ranjan Debnath
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Wetzel
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany.,University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Magdeburg, Germany
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11
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Volkmer S, Wetzel N, Widmann A, Scharf F. Attentional control in middle childhood is highly dynamic-Strong initial distraction is followed by advanced attention control. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13275. [PMID: 35538048 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The ability to shield against distraction while focusing on a task requires the operation of executive functions and is essential for successful learning. We investigated the short-term dynamics of distraction control in a data set of 269 children aged 4-10 years and 51 adults pooled from three studies using multilevel models. Participants performed a visual categorization task while a task-irrelevant sequence of sounds was presented which consisted of frequently repeated standard sounds and rarely interspersed novel sounds. On average, participants responded slower in the categorization task after novel sounds. This distraction effect was more pronounced in children. Throughout the experiment, the initially strong distraction effects declined to the level of adults in the groups of 6- to 10-year-olds. Such a decline was neither observed in the groups of the 4- and 5-year-olds, who consistently showed a high level of distraction, nor in adults, who showed a constantly low level of distraction throughout the experimental session. Results indicate that distraction control is a highly dynamic process that qualitatively and quantitatively differs between age groups. We conclude that the analysis of short-term dynamics provides valuable insights into the development of attention control and might explain inconsistent findings regarding distraction control in middle childhood. In addition, models of attention control need to be refined to account for age-dependent rapid learning mechanisms. Our findings have implications for the design of learning situations and provide an additional source of information for the diagnosis and treatment of children with attention deficit disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sindram Volkmer
- Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicole Wetzel
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Widmann
- Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Florian Scharf
- Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Institute of Psychology, Kassel University, Kassel, Germany
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Saksida A, Ghiselli S, Bembich S, Scorpecci A, Giannantonio S, Resca A, Marsella P, Orzan E. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Listening Effort in Young Children with Cochlear Implants. Audiol Res 2021; 12:1-9. [PMID: 35076472 PMCID: PMC8788282 DOI: 10.3390/audiolres12010001] [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: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Very early bilateral implantation is thought to significantly reduce the attentional effort required to acquire spoken language, and consequently offer a profound improvement in quality of life. Despite the early intervention, however, auditory and communicative outcomes in children with cochlear implants remain poorer than in hearing children. The distorted auditory input via the cochlear implants requires more auditory attention resulting in increased listening effort and fatigue. Listening effort and fatigue may critically affect attention to speech, and in turn language processing, which may help to explain the variation in language and communication abilities. However, measuring attention to speech and listening effort is demanding in infants and very young children. Three objective techniques for measuring listening effort are presented in this paper that may address the challenges of testing very young and/or uncooperative children with cochlear implants: pupillometry, electroencephalography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We review the studies of listening effort that used these techniques in paediatric populations with hearing loss, and discuss potential benefits of the systematic evaluation of listening effort in these populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Saksida
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health—IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, 34100 Trieste, Italy; (A.S.); (S.B.)
| | - Sara Ghiselli
- “Guglielmo da Saliceto” Hospital of Piacenza, 29121 Piacenza, Italy;
| | - Stefano Bembich
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health—IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, 34100 Trieste, Italy; (A.S.); (S.B.)
| | - Alessandro Scorpecci
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, 00165 Roma, Italy; (A.S.); (S.G.); (A.R.); (P.M.)
| | - Sara Giannantonio
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, 00165 Roma, Italy; (A.S.); (S.G.); (A.R.); (P.M.)
| | - Alessandra Resca
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, 00165 Roma, Italy; (A.S.); (S.G.); (A.R.); (P.M.)
| | - Pasquale Marsella
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, 00165 Roma, Italy; (A.S.); (S.G.); (A.R.); (P.M.)
| | - Eva Orzan
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health—IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, 34100 Trieste, Italy; (A.S.); (S.B.)
- Correspondence:
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Wetzel N, Kunke D, Widmann A. Tablet PC use directly affects children's perception and attention. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21215. [PMID: 34707134 PMCID: PMC8551317 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00551-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Children currently grow up with a marked increase in interactive digital mobile media. To what extent digital media directly modulate children’s perception and attention is largely unknown. We investigated the processing of task-irrelevant auditory information while 37 children aged 6;8–9;1-years played the identical card game on a tablet PC or with the experimenter in reality. The sound sequence included repeated standard sounds and occasionally novel sounds. Event-related potentials in the EEG, that reflect sound-related processes of perception and attention, were measured. Sounds evoked increased amplitudes of the ERP components P1, P2 and P3a during the interaction with the tablet PC compared to the human interaction. This indicates enhanced early processing of task-irrelevant information and increased allocation of attention to sounds throughout the interaction with a tablet PC compared to a human partner. Results suggest direct effects of typical situations, where children interact with a tablet PC, on neuronal mechanisms that drive perception and attention in the developing brain. More research into this phenomena is required to make specific suggestions for developing digital interactive learning programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Wetzel
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Brenneckestr. 6, 39119, Magdeburg, Germany. .,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany. .,University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Dunja Kunke
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Brenneckestr. 6, 39119, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Widmann
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Brenneckestr. 6, 39119, Magdeburg, Germany.,Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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Distraction of attention by novel sounds in children declines fast. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5308. [PMID: 33674634 PMCID: PMC7935912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83528-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
New task-irrelevant sounds can distract attention. This study specifies the impact of stimulus novelty and of learning on attention control in three groups of children aged 6–7, 8, and 9–10 years and an adult control group. Participants (N = 179) were instructed to ignore a sound sequence including standard sounds and novel or repeated distractor sounds, while performing a visual categorization task. Distractor sounds impaired performance in children more than in adult controls, demonstrating the long-term development of attention control. Children, but not adults, were more distracted by novel than by repeated sounds, indicating increased sensitivity to novel information. Children, in particular younger children, were highly distracted during the first presentations of novel sounds compared to adults, while no age differences were observed for the last presentations. Results highlight the age-related impact of auditory novel information on attention and characterize the rapid development of attention control mechanisms as a function of age and exposure to irrelevant novel sounds.
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Bonmassar C, Widmann A, Wetzel N. The impact of novelty and emotion on attention-related neuronal and pupil responses in children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 42:100766. [PMID: 32452459 PMCID: PMC7068055 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Focusing on relevant and ignoring irrelevant information is essential for many learning processes. The present study investigated attention-related brain activity and pupil dilation responses, evoked by task-irrelevant emotional novel sounds. In the framework of current theories about the relation between attention and the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system, we simultaneously registered event-related potentials (ERPs) in the EEG and changes in pupil diameter (PDR). Unexpected emotional negative and neutral environmental novel sounds were presented within a sequence of repeated standard sounds to 7-10-year-old children and to adults, while participants focused on a visual task. Novel sounds evoked distinctive ERP components, reflecting attention processes and a biphasic PDR in both age groups. Amplitudes of the novel-minus-standard ERPs were increased in children compared to adults, indicating immature neuronal basis of auditory attention in middle childhood. Emotional versus neutral novel sounds evoked increased responses in the ERPs and in the PDR in both age groups. This demonstrates the increased impact of emotional sounds on attention mechanisms and indicates an advanced level of emotional information processing in children. The similar pattern of novel-related PDR and ERPs is conforming to recent theories, emphasizing the role of the LC-NE system in attention processes adding a developmental perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andreas Widmann
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicole Wetzel
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
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Vasilev MR, Parmentier FB, Angele B, Kirkby JA. Distraction by deviant sounds during reading: An eye-movement study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2018; 72:1863-1875. [PMID: 30518304 PMCID: PMC6613176 DOI: 10.1177/1747021818820816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Oddball studies have shown that sounds unexpectedly deviating from an otherwise repeated sequence capture attention away from the task at hand. While such distraction is typically regarded as potentially important in everyday life, previous work has so far not examined how deviant sounds affect performance on more complex daily tasks. In this study, we developed a new method to examine whether deviant sounds can disrupt reading performance by recording participants’ eye movements. Participants read single sentences in silence and while listening to task-irrelevant sounds. In the latter condition, a 50-ms sound was played contingent on the fixation of five target words in the sentence. On most occasions, the same tone was presented (standard sound), whereas on rare and unexpected occasions it was replaced by white noise (deviant sound). The deviant sound resulted in significantly longer fixation durations on the target words relative to the standard sound. A time-course analysis showed that the deviant sound began to affect fixation durations around 180 ms after fixation onset. Furthermore, deviance distraction was not modulated by the lexical frequency of target words. In summary, fixation durations on the target words were longer immediately after the presentation of the deviant sound, but there was no evidence that it interfered with the lexical processing of these words. The present results are in line with the recent proposition that deviant sounds yield a temporary motor suppression and suggest that deviant sounds likely inhibit the programming of the next saccade.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabrice Br Parmentier
- 2 University of the Balearic Islands, Department of Psychology and Research Institute for Health Sciences (iUNICS), Palma, Spain.,3 Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), Palma, Spain.,4 University of Western Australia, School of Psychology, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Bernhard Angele
- 1 Bournemouth University, Department of Psychology, Poole, UK
| | - Julie A Kirkby
- 1 Bournemouth University, Department of Psychology, Poole, UK
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