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Updated: Oct 3, 2025
Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Testing predictions of a neural process model of visual attention in infancy across competitive and non-competitive
John P Spencer1, Shannon Ross-Sheehy2, Bret Eschman3
1The University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Insights
This study tested a dynamic field model of infant spatial attention, finding it accurately predicts how infants
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Understanding the link between neural system changes and infant behavior is crucial for developmental science.
- The dynamic field (DF) model offers a computational framework for explaining infant spatial attention development.
- Previous research has primarily used non-competitive cue conditions in tasks assessing infant attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the predictive validity of the dynamic field (DF) model of infant spatial attention.
- To investigate the impact of competitive cue conditions on infant orienting accuracy and reaction times.
- To examine age-related differences in attentional costs associated with competitive cueing.
Main Methods:
- Infants aged 5, 7, and 10 months participated in the Infant Orienting With Attention (IOWA) task.
- The task included both non-competitive and novel competitive cue conditions.
- Model predictions regarding accuracy, reaction time, and age-related effects were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Four out of five predictions derived from the DF model were supported by the infant data.
- Infants exhibited slower reaction times and altered accuracy in competitive cueing conditions.
- Older infants demonstrated more pronounced attentional costs in competitive conditions.
Conclusions:
- The dynamic field (DF) model provides a robust account of neuro-developmental changes in infant spatial attention.
- The model's parameters remained stable across age groups, supporting its developmental validity.
- Simulations confirmed the model's close fit to empirical data, even with expanded task conditions.
Abstract:
A key question in early development is how changes in neural systems give rise to changes in infants' behavior. We examine this question by testing predictions of a dynamic field (DF) model of infant spatial attention. We tested 5-, 7-, and 10-month-old infants in the Infant Orienting With Attention (IOWA) task containing the original non-competitive cue conditions (when a central stimulus disappeared before a cue onset) and new competitive cue conditions (when a central stimulus remained visible throughout the trial). This allowed testing of five model predictions: (1) that orienting accuracy would be higher and (2) reaction times would be slower for all competitive conditions; (3) that all infants would be slower to orient in the competitive conditions, though (4) older infants would show the strongest competition costs; and (5) that reaction times would be particularly slow for un-cued competitive conditions. Four of these five predictions were supported, and the remaining prediction was supported in part. We next examined fits of the model to the expanded task. New simulation results reveal close fits to the present findings after parameter modification. Critically, developmental parameters of the model were not altered, providing support for the DF model's account of neuro-developmental change.
