Poster #4 - Eye-Tracking & Problem-Solving Ability in Toddlers

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

Integrative Statement

Previous studies have found that motor and cognitive developments are closely intertwined (Diamond, 2000; Piek, Dawson, Smith & Gasson, 2008). Many studies have focused on the relationship between cognitive abilities and gross motor skills, fine motor skills, bilateral body coordination, timed performance in movements, object control or total motor score (van der Fels et al., 2015). However, little research has examined the relationship between ocular-motor skills and cognitive ability, namely, problem-solving ability. The purpose of the current study was to examine this relationship.

Children (n=15) between the ages of 23-44 months (mean age of 29.9 months) participated in a free-viewing eye-tracking experiment. Participants were seated in front of a computer monitor and were presented with one-minute video clips of various stimuli including people, animals, landscapes and objects. Participants wore a sticker on their forehead that enabled an infrared camera to track and record the participants’ eye movements. Depending on children’s temperament, they watched between 3-13 video clips with an average of 8 video clips watched. The data was cleaned by removing blinks and calculating the amount of data lost; the primary variables of interest were the participant’s saccade amplitude, saccade velocity, saccade duration and fixation duration. Inclusion criteria consisted of each video clip having at least 20 saccades, and no more than 30% of data lost. Within approximately one month of data collection, the parents of the children completed the age-appropriate Ages and Stages Questionnaire- 3. The subtest of particular interest for this study was the problem-solving subtest.

A two-tailed Pearson’s correlation was conducted on the saccade metrics (i.e., amplitude, velocity, and duration) for validity purposes. All three variables were positively correlated with one another (i.e., amplitude-velocity, amplitude-duration, velocity-duration), with a significance level of p < 0.01. A two-tailed Pearson’s correlation test was conducted on the median saccade metrics, fixation duration and ASQ-3 problem-solving scores. Problem-solving ability was positively correlated with saccade amplitude, (r = 0.762, p = 0.001). These findings indicate that the greater the amplitude of the child’s saccades, the better were their problem-solving skills. Problem-solving ability was also positively correlated with saccade duration (r = 0.6494, p = 0.004), implying that participants who took longer to complete the saccade had better problem-solving skills. Additionally, problem-solving scores were positively correlated with fixation duration, (r = 0.707, p = 0.003), suggesting that children who fixated for longer periods of time at a particular location on the screen had stronger problem-solving skills.

Taken together, these findings provide support that ocular-motor development is related to cognitive problem-solving skills.

Authors

• Anna Michelle McPhee, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Angelina Paolozza, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sarah Ahmed, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mark Schmuckler, University of Toronto, Scarborough
  Non-Presenting Author