A great deal of research suggests that a close relationship with a teacher in preschool plays a significant role in promoting school readiness (Mashburn & Pianta, 2006). How exactly this relationship might impact children's acquisitions of skills, however, is not well understood. Strong theoretical arguments suggest both children's motivation and attention control as likely explanatory mechanisms in this association. These two learning-related behaviors have been described for preschoolers within the framework of Approaches to Learning as Competence Motivation and Attention/Persistence (McDermott, Leigh, & Perry, 2002). To test these variables as potential mediators, data were analyzed from 115 Head Start children scheduled to enter kindergarten the following year. Teachers completed a measure of teacher-child attachment in the fall, and a measure of Approaches to Learning in the winter. Children were directly assessed on school readiness at the end of the year. Regression analyses were conducted to test two mediation models. Results indicated Attention/Persistence but not Competence Motivation as a significant mediator in the association between teacher-child relationships in preschool and school readiness. Implications for intervention with low-income preschoolers are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1998. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-[194]). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ27326.

archives@tulane.edu / Learning environments are complex, dynamic settings that contain multiple sources of information that compete for our attention resources. Researchers and practitioners argue that selective attention control is critical for effective learning, as selective attention allows individuals to stay focused on primary task goals and ignore task-irrelevant competing information. However, research with older adults has shown that increased attention to competing information can also benefit learning when this competing information is relevant to ongoing learning tasks. We examined the extent to which individual differences in selective attention skills influenced individuals’ learning from task-relevant competing information. Across three experiments we examined these effects at multiple developmental time points in the context of an experimental learning task and in computer-based learning environments. In Experiment 1, 4- to 8-year-old children completed a selective attention task that included competing information that was relevant for an ongoing learning and memory task. Children with better selective attention skills showed enhanced learning from the task-relevant competing information when they could efficiently complete the attention task and visually sample the relevant information. Experiment 2 examined 3- to 5-year-old children’s learning from science video lessons that varied in the amount of lesson-relevant vs. -irrelevant competing information available. Children with better selective attention skills preferentially attended to lesson-relevant competing information when both relevant and irrelevant information was present during the lessons, which promoted enhanced learning of lesson content. Finally, Experiment 3 examined the impact of multiple competing visual features (i.e., instructor videos, visual cues) on young adults’ learning from pre-recorded video lessons. Adults’ learning depended on both their selective attention skills and their perception about the relevance of these visuals for their learning. Individuals with better selective attention showed enhanced learning from lessons that included multiple competing visual features considered task-relevant by the learner. Attention control is typically equated with the ability to focus on primary target information while ignoring competing information. However, the current results suggest that selective attention control also involves the ability to efficiently shift across multiple relevant inputs in the environment, allowing for effective learning from both target material and task-relevant competing information. / 1 / Jill L King

The study of metacognition is rooted in the observation of behaviors under states of uncertainty (e.g., Smith et al., 1995). Individuals who are more responsive to uncertainty tend to show greater interference effects in a Stroop color-word naming task compared to those who are less responsive to uncertainty (Washburn, Smith, & Taglialatela, 2005). Individual differences in Stroop interference also have been shown to reflect relative differences in response competition (Washburn, 1994) and rule-maintenance ability (Kane & Engle, 2003). Why would individuals who respond to uncertainty most adaptively be characterized by the worst attention-control skills? The current study was designed to measure the individual contribution of sensitivity to response competition and rule maintenance ability to the pre-established relationship between Stroop interference and uncertainty responsiveness. Though participants performed as expected in both tasks, the previously reported relationship between Stroop interference and uncertainty responsiveness was not observed.

ABSTRACT The ability to regulate attention is a key function of several cognitive activities, especially mindfulness and working memory capacity (WMC). In each moment, we are bombarded with both relevant and irrelevant sensory information in our immediate environment, and attentional control is needed to minimize distractions and maximize productivity. Attentional control plays an important role in the practice and embodiment of mindfulness, but it also functions with WMC in similar ways. Both mindfulness and WMC require the individual to regulate his or her attention in such a way that new information can be incorporated and old information, if relevant, can be maintained. In order to further understand the underlying attentional control mechanisms pertaining to mindfulness and WMC, we utilized a component of electroencephalographic response data known as the mismatch negativity (MMN), which provides information about automatic attention orienting. Participants completed a mindfulness survey, spatial (SSPAN) and verbal (OSPAN) WMC tests, and were recorded on EEG while watching a silent movie and listening to tones that changed in frequency. We expected mindful individuals and individuals with high WMC to exhibit larger MMN amplitudes than less mindful and low WMC individuals. We also expected a positive correlation between mindfulness and WMC due to their similar functionalities. Our results showed that mindful individuals actually exhibit smaller MMN amplitudes, and there was no correlation between mindfulness and WMC. Our results also showed a positive correlation between SSPAN and the response to the frequency change. / acase@tulane.edu

Effects of mind wandering on creative thinking is unclear in the literature. Using multiple measures of mind wandering and creativity, the current study investigates the role of different contexts on the relationship between mind wandering and creative thinking. Thought probes measured intentionality and freely moving dimensions of mind wandering in a lexical decision and a movie task (between-subjects). Three measures of attention control were also obtained. Deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering traits were measured with a survey. Participants did not show off-task behaviors during the mind wandering tasks. Attention control positively predicted creative problem solving and divergent thinking scores. Freely moving thought did not predict creative thinking. Deliberate mind wandering positively predicted creative problem-solving scores above and beyond attention control.

Selective attention may be an effective strategy for regulating emotions. The current study measured selective attention to emotional pictures in healthy adults using a novel computerized task. Participants saw pictorial cues on the right or left of the screen, followed by target words on the same or opposite side. Participants were divided into two groups. The suppress group had to avoid looking at pictures (cues), whereas the attend group had to look at them. Both groups categorized targets as indoor or outdoor words. Subsequent cue/target recognition tests were administered. Performance on both tasks was assessed by picture valence, revealing reduced inhibitory control to negative picture and difficulties reorienting to negatively cued locations. These findings contribute to our understanding of affective-attentional interactions in healthy adults. Moreover, the apparent inability to avoid looking at negative items may highlight a need to explore other emotion regulation techniques.

Selective attention may be an effective strategy for regulating emotions. The current study measured selective attention to emotional pictures in healthy adults using a novel computerized task. Participants saw pictorial cues on the right or left of the screen, followed by target words on the same or opposite side. Participants were divided into two groups. The suppress group had to avoid looking at pictures (cues), whereas the attend group had to look at them. Both groups categorized targets as indoor or outdoor words. Subsequent cue/target recognition tests were administered. Performance on both tasks was assessed by picture valence, revealing reduced inhibitory control to negative picture and difficulties reorienting to negatively cued locations. These findings contribute to our understanding of affective-attentional interactions in healthy adults. Moreover, the apparent inability to avoid looking at negative items may highlight a need to explore other emotion regulation techniques.

abstract: Modern day driving continues to burgeon with attention detractors found inside and outside drivers' vehicles (e.g. cell phones, other road users, etc.). This study explores a regularly disregarded attention detractor experienced by drivers: self-regulation. Results suggest self-regulation and WMC has the potential to affect attentional control, producing maladaptive changes in driving performance in maximum speed, acceleration, and time headway. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Applied Psychology 2012

The present Research Topic “It's irrelevant for the task but interesting!—How children process and attend to task-irrelevant information” comprises two aspects of cognitive control from a developmental point of view. The first aspect includes the development of children's attention control in different contexts such as emotion processing or novelty processing. The second aspect focuses on the development of children's ability to inhibit actions. The Research Topic addresses research with healthy children and with children suffering from the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It brings together different perspectives on the development of attention control during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. This combination can contribute to new perspectives for future research and can enhance our knowledge about the development of cognitive functions, particularly about the developmental pathway of mechanisms of attention control.