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Children's attentional breadth around their mother: Comparing stimulus‐driven vs. cognitively controlled processes
Author(s) -
Bosmans Guy,
Goldblum Emma,
Braet Caroline,
van de Walle Magali,
Heylen Joke,
Bijttebier Patricia,
Santens Tara,
Koster Ernst H. W.,
De Raedt Rudi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/sode.12256
Subject(s) - psychology , stimulus (psychology) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , attentional control , cognition , neuroscience
Attentional processes in children are tuned toward their mother. It is unclear whether this is a cognitively controlled or more automatic, stimulus‐driven process. Therefore, 172 children (age 9–13) were assigned to either a cognitively controlled or a stimulus‐driven task measuring the breadth of their attentional field around their mother. Results demonstrated a narrower field around the mother for children completing the more stimulus‐driven task. Moreover, only for the stimulus‐driven task, this effect was linked with the interaction between children's age and self‐reported trust in maternal support. More trust was linked with a narrower attentional field around the mother in younger children, but with a less narrow field in older children. This resembles the expected age‐related shift toward increased autonomy and points at stimulus‐driven attentional processes.