The Development of Selective Attention in Infancy and Early Childhood: Lessons from Video Distractors

婴儿期和幼儿期选择性注意力的发展：视频干扰因素的教训

• 批准号: 418206-2012
• 负责人: Courage, Mary
• 金额: $ 1.97万
• 依托单位: Memorial University of Newfoundland
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=551286
• 关键词: Development; Selective; Attention; Infancy; Early

Attention is the gateway to learning and memory. Its basic components (alerting, orienting, focusing, shifting) are immature at birth and undergo significant improvement in the early months and years of life that can be seen in many tasks and behaviors. The improvements are related to maturation of the brain structures and chemicals that mediate attention and also to early experiences. An important attention function that emerges across infancy and early childhood is selectivity. Selective attention involves orienting toward a particular target, maintaining alertness and focus on it while taking in its information, and resisting the distraction from other competing targets. In the media-rich (e.g., background TV, music, video games) environment in which most infants and children live, this competition can be intense and the implications for learning and memory significant. In the proposed research program we will use video material to begin to address whether, how, and under what circumstances these media interfere with (or foster) developing attention processes during the natural learning opportunities afforded by play and social interactions. In studies with 12- 60-month-olds we will examine: the meaning (distraction or selection) of children's frequent looks to a video during play; the conditions under which video diminishes or enhances focused (or engaged) attention to toys; whether or not television has unique distractor properties; the effect of video distractors on learning and memory following an interaction with an adult; and the role of individual differences and experience in establishing stable patterns of attention to video. The results will advance the wider literature on the development of attention by illustrating how the component processes foster young children's adaptations in a "multi-tasking", electronic world. The work will inform parents and professionals who translate basic science into evidence-based practice and policy locally and nationally, as they try to resolve conflicting information about the impact of media on very young children. The program will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for students in psychology, behavioral neuroscience, pediatrics, and education.

注意力是学习和记忆的门户。它的基本组成部分(警觉、定向、聚焦、转移)在出生时还不成熟，在生命的最初几个月和几年里经历了显著的改善，这在许多任务和行为中都可以看到。这些改善与大脑结构和调节注意力的化学物质的成熟有关，也与早期的经验有关。在婴儿期和幼儿期出现的一种重要的注意力功能是选择性。选择性注意包括将注意力定向到特定的目标，在吸收信息的同时保持警觉和专注于该目标，并抵制来自其他竞争目标的分心。在大多数婴儿和儿童生活的媒体丰富(例如，背景电视、音乐、视频游戏)环境中，这种竞争可能是激烈的，对学习和记忆的影响很大。在拟议的研究计划中，我们将使用视频材料开始讨论这些媒体是否、如何以及在什么情况下干扰(或促进)在游戏和社交互动提供的自然学习机会期间发展注意力的过程。在对12-60个月儿童的研究中，我们将考察：儿童在游戏中经常看视频的意义(分心或选择)；视频减少或增强对玩具的集中(或参与)注意力的条件；电视是否具有独特的分心特性；视频分心对与成人互动后学习和记忆的影响；以及个体差异和经验在建立对视频的稳定注意力模式中的作用。这一结果将通过说明注意发展的组成部分过程如何促进幼儿在一个“多任务”的电子世界中的适应，来推动更广泛的文献。这项工作将向家长和专业人士提供信息，他们将把基础科学转化为地方和国家基于证据的实践和政策，因为他们试图解决关于媒体对幼儿影响的相互矛盾的信息。该项目将为学生提供心理学、行为神经科学、儿科学和教育方面的跨学科培训机会。