Poster #2 - Development of Multiple Object Tracking via Sustained Multifocal Attention

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

The ability to attend to multiple objects simultaneously requires sustained divided attention. One method often used to assess divided attention capabilities is multiple object tracking (MOT), which involves simultaneously tracking the location of multiple moving targets among identical-looking distractors. While one study suggested that children as young as 6 years of age can track up to two targets among distractors (Trick et al., 2005), it is unclear whether children use sustained multifocal attention to track multiple targets (as adults do; e.g. Cavanagh & Alvarez, 2005) or whether they use single-focus tracking strategies (e.g., serially foveating the objects rather than dividing their attention simultaneously among the objects). To address this, we created an MOT task designed to limit use of single-focus tracking strategies, and examined MOT performance in a sample of 6-10 year-old children.

Children completed a computerized MOT task (Figure 1). The task was presented as a game, where the goal was to feed an animal (presented at fixation) its favorite food, represented by colored dots. On each trial, participants saw four dots presented in two pairs, each consisting of 1 target (the animal’s favorite food, indicated by a brief flash prior to object movement) and 1 distractor. The target/distractor pairs then orbited in diagonally opposite quadrants of the screen, before shifting either vertically or horizontally to the previously unoccupied quadrants (while continuing to orbit). Children were then asked to select the target from one probed target/distractor pair. Critically, each target was always closely grouped with a distractor, making tracking using serial attention difficult (using Gestalt laws of proximity and common fate; Wagemans et al., 2012). Children completed 24 total trials.

Fifty-seven children (12 6-year-olds (M = 6.42, SD = .28; 5 girls), 12 7-year-olds (M = 7.31, SD = .30; 5 girls), 12 8-year-olds (M = 8.40, SD = .31; 5 girls), 11 9-year-olds (M = 9.27, SD = .26; 4 girls), and 10 10-year-olds (M = 10.24, SD = .27; 5 girls)) participated in this study. Across age groups, children completed the task above chance (M = 85.82, SD = 10.76; chance=50%, t(56) = 25.122, p<.001). There was a significant main effect of age, F(4, 52) = 4.91, p=.002, with 8 (M = 90.97, SD = 8.85), 9 (M = 90.15, SD = 8.60), and 10-year olds (M = 89.17, SD = 10.43) performing better than 6-year olds (M = 76.39, SD = 11.70) (ps <.05); no other comparisons were significant. A separate sample of 12 adults (M = 22, SD = 4.41; 8 females) performed similarly to the 7-10-year-old children (M = 86.41, SD = 10.22) (ps > .05), but significantly better than 6-year-olds (p=.02). See Figure 2 for performance means across age groups.

Our results provide the first evidence that children can engage in sustained multifocal attention to track multiple objects simultaneously. Further, our results suggest that this ability undergoes development between 6 and 7 years of age, and that for this task children exhibit adult-like performance by 7 years of age.

Authors

• Tashauna Blankenship, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Roger Strong, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa M. Kibbe, Boston University
  Non-Presenting Author