Voluntary and automatic orienting of attention during childhood development
AUTOR(ES)
Lellis, Vera Rocha Reis, Mariani, Mirella Martins de Castro, Ribeiro, Adriana de Fátima, Cantiere, Carla Nunes, Teixeira, Maria Cristina Triguero Veloz, Carreiro, Luiz Renato Rodrigues
FONTE
Psychol. Neurosci.
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO
2013-06
RESUMO
Selective attention directs cognitive resources to relevant objects or events through either voluntary (top-down) or automatic (bottom-up) control. This paper analyzes voluntary and automatic orienting of attention during childhood development. Seventy-four children (6 to 10 years old) were asked to press a key in response to a visual target presented in a previously oriented position (voluntary orienting; Experiment 1) or after a peripheral unpredictable cue (automatic orienting; Experiment 2). A systematic reduction of reaction times was observed in older children in both experiments. For automatic orienting in Experiment 2, reaction times were shorter in the ipsilateral condition than in the contralateral condition. However, for older children, the differences in reaction times between these conditions decreased. This may be attributable to the appearance of Inhibition of Return as a result of the maturation of the attentional system derived from childhood development, which contributes to more effective exploration of the environment.
