Premium
A diffusion modeling approach to understanding contextual cueing effects in children with ADHD
Author(s) -
Weigard Alexander,
HuangPollock Cynthia
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.12250
Subject(s) - psychology , neurocognitive , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , cognitive psychology , cognition , response inhibition , developmental psychology , neuroscience , clinical psychology
Background Strong theoretical models suggest implicit learning deficits may exist among children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ). Method We examine implicit contextual cueing ( CC ) effects among children with ADHD ( n = 72) and non‐ ADHD Controls ( n = 36). Results Using Ratcliff's drift diffusion model, we found that among Controls, the CC effect is due to improvements in attentional guidance and to reductions in response threshold. Children with ADHD did not show a CC effect; although they were able to use implicitly acquired information to deploy attentional focus, they had more difficulty adjusting their response thresholds. Conclusions Improvements in attentional guidance and reductions in response threshold together underlie the CC effect. Results are consistent with neurocognitive models of ADHD that posit subcortical dysfunction but intact spatial attention, and encourage the use of alternative data analytic methods when dealing with reaction time data.