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Attentional Demands (attentional + demand)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	85%

Selected Abstracts

The development of sentence interpretation: effects of perceptual, attentional and semantic interference

DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007
Robert Leech
How does the development and consolidation of perceptual, attentional, and higher cognitive abilities interact with language acquisition and processing? We explored children's (ages 5,17) and adults' (ages 18,51) comprehension of morphosyntactically varied sentences under several competing speech conditions that varied in the degree of attentional demands, auditory masking, and semantic interference. We also evaluated the relationship between subjects' syntactic comprehension and their word reading efficiency and general ,speed of processing'. We found that the interactions between perceptual and attentional processes and complex sentence interpretation changed considerably over the course of development. Perceptual masking of the speech signal had an early and lasting impact on comprehension, particularly for more complex sentence structures. In contrast, increased attentional demand in the absence of energetic auditory masking primarily affected younger children's comprehension of difficult sentence types. Finally, the predictability of syntactic comprehension abilities by external measures of development and expertise is contingent upon the perceptual, attentional, and semantic milieu in which language processing takes place. [source]

Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young children

DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2008
Stephanie M. Carlson
Advanced inhibitory control skills have been found in bilingual speakers as compared to monolingual controls (Bialystok, 1999). We examined whether this effect is generalized to an unstudied language group (Spanish-English bilingual) and multiple measures of executive function by administering a battery of tasks to 50 kindergarten children drawn from three language groups: native bilinguals, monolinguals (English), and English speakers enrolled in second-language immersion kindergarten. Despite having significantly lower verbal scores and parent education/income level, Spanish-English bilingual children's raw scores did not differ from their peers. After statistically controlling for these factors and age, native bilingual children performed significantly better on the executive function battery than both other groups. Importantly, the relative advantage was significant for tasks that appear to call for managing conflicting attentional demands (Conflict tasks); there was no advantage on impulse-control (Delay tasks). These results advance our understanding of both the generalizability and specificity of the compensatory effects of bilingual experience for children's cognitive development. [source]

The development of sentence interpretation: effects of perceptual, attentional and semantic interference

Attentional load modifies early activity in human primary visual cortex

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 5 2009
Karsten S. Rauss
Abstract Recent theories of selective attention assume that the more attention is required by a task, the earlier are irrelevant stimuli filtered during perceptual processing. Previous functional MRI studies have demonstrated that primary visual cortex (V1) activation by peripheral distractors is reduced by higher task difficulty at fixation, but it remains unknown whether such changes affect initial processing in V1 or subsequent feedback. Here we manipulated attentional load at fixation while recording peripheral visual responses with high-density EEG in 28 healthy volunteers, which allowed us to track the exact time course of attention-related effects on V1. Our results show a modulation of the earliest component of the visual evoked potential (C1) as a function of attentional load. Additional topographic and source localization analyses corroborated this finding, with significant load-related differences observed throughout the first 100 ms post-stimulus. However, this effect was observed only when stimuli were presented in the upper visual field (VF), but not for symmetrical positions in the lower VF. Our findings demonstrate early filtering of irrelevant information under increased attentional demands, thus supporting models that assume a flexible mechanism of attentional selection, but reveal important functional asymmetries across the VF. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Cognitive and emotional modulation of the cardiac defense response in humans

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000
María Nieves Pérez
The cognitive and emotional modulation of the cardiac defense response was investigated in this study. One hundred forty-four participants were exposed to three presentations of an intense auditory stimulus while performing one of four attentional tasks: a control task, an external perceptual tracking task, and two internal tasks presented at either easy or difficult memory loads. State anxiety was also manipulated by requiring each group to perform either with or without the threat of shock. Heart rate and vasomotor activity were recorded. Results indicated that only the externally directed tracking task led to potentiation of the cardiac response. No predicted effects for attentional demands were obtained and the anxiety manipulation did not appear to have an effect. Differences between measures were also observed, particularly with respect to response habituation. Unlike cardiac activity, vasomotor responses displayed resistance to habituation. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary accounts of defensive responding. [source]

Active/Exploratory Training Promotes Transfer Even in Learners with Low Motivation and Cognitive Ability

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Nina Keith
Active training approaches encourage self-directed exploration, whereas guided training stresses direct instruction and external guidance during training. The present research investigated interactions of individual-difference variables,motivation and cognitive ability,and training approach on performance in tasks that are similar to training tasks (analogical transfer) and tasks that are novel and distinct from training tasks (adaptive transfer). In accordance with a resource allocation framework (Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989), we expected effects of individual differences on transfer performance to be reduced after active/exploratory training compared with guided training, because participants of exploratory training engage in the same kind of metacognitive processing during training and transfer. Consequently, attentional demands are reduced during transfer, whereas for participants of guided training the transfer situation imposes high attentional demands. Experiment 1 (N= 37) taught a word processing program and Experiment 2 (N= 110) taught a presentation program using either active/exploratory or guided training. Consistent with previous research, training methods were equally effective for analogical transfer but active/exploratory training led to better adaptive transfer. In addition, interaction hypotheses were supported. Contrary to common recommendations, results suggest that active/exploratory training is suitable for promoting transfer even in learners with relatively low motivation and ability. La formation active stimule la recherche personnelle tandis que la formation dirigée accentue la transmission de directives et de conseils. Cette étude porte sur les interactions de variables relevant de différences individuelles (la motivation et les aptitudes cognitives) avec le type de formation sur la performance dans des tâches similaires aux tâches apprises (transfert analogique) et dans des tâches qui sont différentes de celles apprises (transfert adaptatif). A partir d'un modèle d'allocation de ressources (Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989), on s'attendait à ce que l'action des différences individuelles sur la performance suite au transfert soit atténuée à la suite d'une formation centrée sur l'exploration active, en comparaison de la formation dirigée, cela parce que les stagiaires bénéficiant d'une formation active font appel à la même catégorie de processus métacognitifs lors de la formation et du transfert. Par conséquent, une moindre attention est nécessaire durant le transfert, tandis que pour les stagiaires soumis à la formation dirigée, la situation de transfert exige une forte attention. La première expérience (N = 37) portait sur l'apprentissage d'un logiciel de traitement de textes et la deuxième sur l'apprentissage d'un logiciel de préparation d'un exposé utilisant soit une formation active, soit une formation dirigée. En accord avec les recherches antérieures, ces méthodes de formation sont d'une efficacité analogue en ce qui concerne le transfert analogique; mais la formation active permet un meilleur transfert adaptatif. De plus, les hypothèses sur les interactions ont été confirmées. A l'encontre des recommandations habituelles, nos résultats montrent que la formation active est favorable au transfert même quand les stagiaires présentent des aptitudes et des motivations relativement faibles. [source]