A Developmental Study of Attention

Bibliographic Data

ID5264693
AuthorsA Gale (0000-0002-3165-3034), Richard Lynn (0000-0002-2497-3486, University of Ulster)
Year1972
Volume42
Issue3
Pages260-266
Publication date1972-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Educational Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0998 • E-ISSN: 2044-8279
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.2044-8279.1972.tb00719.x
PMID4643755
OpenAlexW2040954404
LanguageEN
Citations received6

This is a study of the development of attention in young children. A continuous response, 40-minute auditory vigilance task, was administered to 612 children between the ages of 7 to 13. Performance improved with age, with greatest improvement between the ages of 8 and 9. Girls were significantly better than boys at ages 7, 8 and 12. There were no correlations (within sub-samples) between vigilance performance and intelligence (Raven's Progressive Matrices and Crichton Vocabulary Scale) or between vigilance performance and personality (extraversion and neuroticism scores on the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory). All age groups showed variation in performance (the 'vigilance decrement') within the task. Results are compared with previous findings and it is concluded that (i) attentional capacity is independent of intelligence and (ii) that critical changes in this capacity may occur between ages 8 and 9

Big Five personality traits · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Extraversion and introversion · Eysenck Personality Questionnaire · Neuroticism · Personality · Vigilance (psychology) · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Neuroscience, Education and Cognitive Function · Psychology · Social Psychology

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