Early Childhood: Attention and Self-Control

Study of "Marshmallow experiment" was popularized in

the 80s - 90s

Selective attention

ability to tune into certain things while tuning out others

Sustained or focused attention

maintaining that focus over time

Eye-contact exercises

sustained attention improved when children needed to make eye contact with teacher before leaving the group in circle time

Chants/Phrases to refocus

"crisscross apple sauce" ; "123 eyes on me" for selective attention ; refocusing

Focus of self control and regulation has shifted to

broader concept self-regulation of emotions, cognitive processes, learning as opposed to deprivation and discipline

Thought in research that “self-control is like

a muscle” , you need to build and strengthen , and it can get fatigued

The marshmallow study is a popularized study at Stanford that looked at

children’s ability to delay instant gratification for a later reward

The marshmallow study found correlation with

those who “waited” had later academic and employment success

After 8 weeks, Neville found

positive changes in the way these children’s brains functioned and in their language skills, nonverbal IQ, and social skills, as well as a reduction in problem behaviors.

Neville and her colleagues developed

a training program for children from low SES using games that allowed them to practice attention skills.

Parents in Neville’s study

benefitted from the program, showing reduced stress and
greater ability to maintain conversations with their children.

Young children from low-income families may have

less effective selective attention

Differences in attention in part to

heritable characteristics (nature), yet also influenced by experience (nurture)

Ability to focus and sustain attention in preschool children has also been linked to

differences in families’ economic circumstances

In a longitudinal study, parents rated

their 4-year-old child’s attention span and persistence.

Children who were better able to maintain focused attention and who persisted even when faced with difficulties

had higher math and reading achievement at age 21 and a greater chance of college completion by age 25

A 2005 longitudinal study of 1000 preschoolers showed that

children ranked low in attentional control had poorer social skills and peer relationships in 1st and 3rd grade

Ability to attend to information critical foundational skill for

all learning, aspects of school readiness

General rule of thumb:

2 - 3 minutes x age

Can often focus on tasks of interest for

longer periods of time

Child’s ability to ‘pay attention’ improves over

the preschool years, relative to toddlerhood, but still under development