Social engagement, attention and competence of preschoolers with hearing loss

The social engagement, social attention skills and social competence of 10 hearing preschoolers and 10 preschoolers with hearing loss were investigated during free play in inclusive oral kindergarten settings using a three-level hierarchical model. When comparing the types of opportunities, at the first level, the children with hearing loss created significantly fewer opportunities through visual regard and interaction. At the second level, for social attention skills, this group scored significantly higher on distractibility, and significantly lower on alert, sustained and focused attention. For the third level, social competence, no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups. Discriminant Function Analysis showed that the function that discriminated maximally between the two groups of participants was composed only of amount of interaction at Level 1. Children scoring highly on this function were also more likely to have the ability to focus their attention and manage divided attention, to be reciprocal, and to demonstrate mutuality and problem-solving skills with peers.     

相似性分离:选择性注意中干扰和抑制关系研究

选择性注意的研究是当今信息加工理论框架的一个中心概念,而抑制是当前选择性注意研究的前沿焦点。作为注意的机制———抑制在注意选择中对分心物是如何起作用的?抑制和干扰是一种什么关系?实验结果显示:抑制和干扰之间是一种正相关,抑制随干扰的变化而变化。     

Sustained and selective attention in children with learning disabilities

Sustained and selective attention of 30 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and 20 controls were compared. A continuous performance test (CPT) yielded no differences for students with LD and controls, suggesting similar ability for both groups in sustaining attention and inhibiting impulsive responding. Subjects with LD made more errors than controls on a selective attention task when letter distractors were adjacent to the target letter but not when they were distant, and more correct responses than controls when facilitating letters were adjacent to the target, suggesting that students with LD are less able to narrow the focus of their attention. Longer response times by students with LD indicate that they have slower information-processing skills than controls. Regrouping students according to teacher ratings for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) yielded the customary impulsive response set on the CPT and more errors on the selective attention task, but no differences on response times for students with ADHD. LD students with ADHD made more errors than LD students without ADHD when letter distractors were adjacent to the target letter.     

The development of forward search planning in preschoolers

Previous evidence suggesting that young children have some ability to plan by means of forward search suffers from typical findings that individual performance is inconsistent and group performance is low. In the present study, evidence is sought that children's imperfect performance results from unstable execution of the correct component processes of forward search, rather than from use of flawed or incomplete rules. 4- and 5-year-olds participated in a route-planning task in which they collected items from several locations in a large space. Incorrect routes required having to backtrack to locations previously visited. Forward search in this task required 3 component processes: representing a possible route, evaluating the route for backtracking, and if necessary, repeating the procedure for an alternate route. Evidence from stochastic parameter estimation and from children's self-corrections and explanations showed that 5-year-olds engaged in forward search, but that 4-year-olds used only a rudimentary form of forward search. Developmental changes involved children's ability to foresee and avoid backtracking, to consider alternate routes, and to spontaneously self-correct errors. Results are discussed in terms of implications for our understanding of the structure and development of early problem-solving skills in general.     

The development of children's strategies for selective attention: evidence for a transitional period

Previous research suggests a developmental lag between producing a strategy of selective attention and benefiting from it. This aspect of the transitional period during strategy acquisition was investigated in the present study by comparing recall following child-produced (Session 1) and experimenter-produced (Session 2) strategies. The 114 7-9-year-olds were told to remember a subset of 6 items (either animals or household) located beneath 2 rows of doors. Session 1 assessed each child's spontaneous strategy (pattern of opening doors) over 6 trials. Session 2 included 7 different trial types, during which the experimenter opened the doors, thereby equating the strategies for children of all ages. The results revealed gradual changes in children's ability both to produce and to benefit from a selective strategy. Whereas younger children performed differently on trial types during which only the 6 relevant versus all 12 items were shown, older children recalled a similar number of items for all trial types, regardless of the number or pattern of door openings provided. Adult-produced selectivity eliminated recall differences among the grades and suggested that strategy production is effortful for younger children and therefore may prevent their benefiting from the strategy.     

Effects of visual grouping strategies of computer-animated presentations on selective attention in science

The effects of visual grouping strategies involving animated and static graphic presentations on selective attention were studied. Also studied was the ability of students to learn a scientific rule presented incidentally in an animated sequence. A total of 39 fourth-graders participated in an introductory lesson on Newton's laws of motion. Two levels of Visual Presentation (Static Graphic, Animated Graphic) were crossed with two levels of Visual Grouping (Grouped, Ungrouped). A within-subjects factor consisted of two levels of Learning Intent (Intentional, Incidental). Results showed that students given animated presentations of lesson content outperformed students receiving static presentations, but only when the animated lesson frames were presented in groups, or “chunks,” of textual and visual sequences. Results also showed that students were able to successfully extract information pertaining to an application of Newton's second law incidentally presented in animated sequences. These latter results replicate earlier findings.     

Visual and cognitive processes contribute to age-related improvements in visual selective attention

Children (N = 103, 4–9 years, 59 females, 84% White, c. 2019) completed visual processing, visual feature integration (color, luminance, motion), and visual search tasks. Contrast sensitivity and feature search improved with age similarly for luminance and color-defined targets. Incidental feature integration improved more with age for color-motion than luminance-motion. Individual differences in feature search ( = .11) and incidental feature integration ( $$ = .06) mediated age-related changes in conjunction visual search, an index of visual selective attention. These findings suggest that visual selective attention is best conceptualized as a series of developmental trajectories, within an individual, that vary by an object's defining features. These data have implications for design of educational and interventional strategies intended to maximize attention for learning and memory.     

Impulse control or selective attention: Remedial programs for hyperactivity

The purpose of the present study was to compare various cognitive treatment approaches for ameliorating the difficulties of hyperactive children on tasks requiring sustained vigilance and accuracy. Differential training techniques comparing training in attention to inhibitory control indicated that a combination of attentional and inhibitory control strategies was most efficacious in enhancing cognitive performance of these children. The findings from the present research further were interpreted to support the hypothesis suggesting that problems with impulse control and attention occur concurrently in hyperkinetic children, although remediation in attentional deploying strategies is necessary for enhancing cognitive performance of these children. The results from this study further indicated that training hyperkinetic children solely in inhibitory control simply is not sufficient for enhancing cognitive performance.     

Development of gender constancy and selective attention to same-sex models.

4 developmental levels of gender constancy were identified in 55 preschool-age children on the basis of a reproducible Guttman scale of answers to sets of questions pertaining to gender identity, gender stability over time, and gender consistency across situations. Children's developmental level of gender constancy was predictive of the amount and the proportion of time they attended to an adult male and an adult female film model. As boys developed gender constancy, their relative preference for watching the male model increased significantly; as girls developed gender constancy, their relative preference for watching the female model increased, though not significantly. At the more advanced levels of gender constancy, boys watched the male model more than did girls. It was suggested that same-sex social learning may develop as a function of children's cognitive understanding of gender as an identifiable, stable and consistent human attribute.     

The effects of syllable instruction on phonemic awareness in preschoolers

Purpose

Preschooler instruction for speech sound awareness typically teaches a progression of speech units from sentences to phonemes, ending at simple first phoneme activities. This study investigates the effects of teaching advanced tasks of phoneme blending and segmenting with and without the larger speech unit of the syllable.

Method

Thirty-nine 4-5-year-old typically developing children received twice-weekly small-group instruction in three conditions: two weeks of syllable tasks then four weeks of multiple phoneme tasks (SP), four weeks of multiple phoneme tasks only (MP), or an active control condition of first phoneme instruction (FP).

Results

The conditions SP and MP showed large significant gains on blending and segmenting and no significant differences on first phoneme isolating compared to the FP condition. A comparison of SP and MP did not show significant differences on phoneme blending and segmenting, but SP showed significantly more confusion during early sessions of phoneme instruction.

Conclusion

This preliminary evidence suggests that preschoolers can improve understanding of phoneme blending and segmenting, without first being taught syllable blending and segmenting, and with no negative effects on first sound awareness. These findings support a more efficient way of teaching preschoolers awareness of the individual sounds of speech. Replication with a larger sample, including children at-risk for literacy difficulties, is recommended before firm conclusions should be drawn.     

Acute aerobic exercise impacts selective attention: an exceptional boost in lower-income children

Educational research suggests that lower-income children exhibit poor general executive functioning relative to their higher-income peers. Meanwhile, sports psychology research suggests that an acute bout of aerobic exercise improves executive functioning in children. Yet, it has never been determined if such exercise (1) specifically improves the selective attention aspect of executive functioning in children or (2) impacts lower-income children any differently than higher-income children. The current study utilised a randomised experimental design and found that a 12?min session of aerobic exercise improved the selective attention of both lower- and higher-income children. Moreover, lower-income children exhibited even greater improvement than higher-income children. As the income-achievement gap persists, it is important to explore feasible interventions that strengthen the cognitive processes that underlie academic performance.     

Language deficits in ADHD preschoolers

The present study examined the impact of preschool ADHD on linguistic and metalinguistic awareness and mental ability. Eight subscales of the Athina Test were administered to ADHD preschoolers and a control group. Results showed that ADHD preschoolers performed significantly lower than the control group in all tasks. The greatest difficulty for ADHD preschoolers was evident in the “phoneme synthesis” subscale, particularly with metalinguistic awareness. These results support previously reported findings that ADHD preschoolers have serious language deficits, which place them at risk for developing poor reading skills in primary school.     

Both handwriting speed and selective attention are important to lecture note-taking

The primary purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the relationship of handwriting speed, fine motor fluency, speed of verbal access, language comprehension, working memory, and attention (executive control; selective) to note-taking and all of the aforementioned variables to test performance (written recall). A second purpose was to determine whether one or both of the hypothesized components of handwriting speed (as based in the children’s literature), fine motor speed or speed access to verbal codes (SAVCs), are responsible for the relationship of handwriting speed to notes. Results indicated that handwriting speed and selective attention were the only variables significantly related to notes and note-taking skill was the only variable that was significantly related to test performance. In a secondary analysis, we tested whether fine motor fluency and SAVC were related to handwriting speed. Handwriting speed was regressed on all of the other independent variables. Only fine motor fluency and SAVC were related to handwriting speed. The implications of these results for conceptualizations of note-taking and handwriting speed are discussed.     

The relationship between hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in preschoolers

Previously, K.A. Dodge and colleagues found an association between hostile attributional bias and aggressive behaviors among school aged children. The present study explored such an association among preschool aged children. Sixty-eight children (38 girls and 30 boys) with a mean age of 4.76 years participated in the study. Videotaped vignettes of children's social interactions were developed specifically for this age group to examine their attributional bias. Children's aggressive behaviors were assessed by teachers, using the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire. Results indicated that hostile/aggressive children were significantly more likely to possess a hostile attributional bias (p < .05) than less aggressive children. Results also indicated that preschoolers were capable of distinguishing between intentional and unintentional actions when stimulus materials used were concrete and familiar to them.     

Longitudinal antecedents of executive function in preschoolers

Despite an extensive history underscoring the role of social processes and child contributions to the development of executive functions (C. Lewis & J. Carpendale, 2009; L. S. Vygotsky, 1987), research on these relations is sparse. To address this gap, 68 mother-child dyads were examined to determine whether maternal attention-directing behaviors (attention maintaining, attention redirection) and toddlers' temperament predicted executive processes during preschool (mean age = 4.5 years, SD = 0.46)-delay and conflict inhibition. Maternal attention maintaining was associated with high levels of conflict inhibition for inhibited and exuberant children, whereas attention redirection was associated with low levels of delay and conflict inhibition for inhibited children. Therefore, maternal attention-directing behaviors may enhance the development of executive functions but only for children with inhibited and exuberant temperaments.     

The facilitation of meaningful verbal learning in the classroom 1

The assimilation theory of meaningful verbal learning and retention and the distinctions between rote and meaningful learning and between reception and discovery learning are reviewed in the light of some recent research on advance organizers, adjunct questions, and cognitive style. An attempt is made to reply to some of the frequently‐made criticisms of the author's research methodology in his studies of advance organizers and retroactive interference in meaningful prose learning and retention. Finally, an assessment is made of freedom of psychological inquiry in the United States and of equality of access to APA journals; and it is suggested that the neobehavioristic orientation in American school learning theory has been artificially kept alive by editorial bias on the part of APA journals, by neobehavioristic bias on the part of reviewers for research funding agencies, and by implicit pressures exerted on graduate students in educational psychology doctoral programs.