Competition for Infants' Attention: The Interactive Influence of Attentional State and Stimulus Characteristics

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
L M OakesTerri L Tjebkes

Abstract

The interactive effects of stimulus characteristics and attentional state on infants' distraction latency were studied. As 7-month-old infants explored initial stimuli that were composed of either a single nonmoving component or multiple moving components, one of several types of distractors was presented in the periphery. Infants' distraction latencies (the amount of time they took to turn from the initial stimulus to the distractor) varied as a function of the interaction between the infants' attentional state at distractor onset and the characteristics of the stimuli. Variations in the visual characteristics of the distractor stimulus (solid rectangle vs. checkerboard) had a larger effect on distraction latency when infants were in a focused attentional state than when they were in a casual attentional state. Similarly, variations in the auditory characteristic of the distractor stimulus (1 intermittent tone vs. 2 alternating tones) had a larger effect when infants were engaged in a focused attentional state toward the multicomponent toys. Thus, infants' distractibility in this context reflects an interaction between the infants' attentional state and the competition between external stimuli for their attentional focus.

References

Feb 1, 1997·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·D J Tellinghuisen, L M Oakes
Apr 1, 1997·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·J DuncanR Ward
May 20, 1998·Developmental Psychobiology·E J Doolittle, H A Ruff

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Citations

Mar 22, 2014·Child Development·Kristen Swan TummeltshammerNatasha Z Kirkham
Jan 11, 2011·Journal of Cognition and Development : Official Journal of the Cognitive Development Society·Kathleen N KannassNancy Wyss
Jul 31, 2013·Journal of Attention Disorders·Ronny GevaJacob Kuint
Nov 1, 2011·Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·Alissa E Setliff, Mary L Courage
Sep 1, 2012·Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·Wallace E DixonCourtney M Snyder
Mar 21, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Mitsuhiko IshikawaShoji Itakura
Jun 10, 2010·Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR·Tammie J Spaulding
Mar 1, 2004·Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·Lisa M OakesKathleen N Kannass

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