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The low prevalence effect in children
Janie Inscore1, Mackenzie Mann1, Juan Guevara Pinto1
1Department of Psychology, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789, United States.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Young children, like adults, struggle with the low prevalence effect (LPE), showing reduced accuracy when searching for rare targets. This indicates that low target prevalence impacts visual search performance even in early development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Visual Perception
Background:
- The low prevalence effect (LPE) describes reduced detection of infrequent targets in visual search tasks.
- This effect is critical in high-stakes fields like medical screening, where missed diagnoses occur.
- Little is known about LPE in young children, with some theories suggesting their broader attention might reduce susceptibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether young children exhibit the low prevalence effect (LPE) similar to adults.
- To compare visual search performance and LPE susceptibility between 4- to 5-year-old children and adults.
Main Methods:
- An eye-tracking visual search task was employed.
- Participants included 4- to 5-year-old children and adults.
- Target prevalence was manipulated to assess its effect on search accuracy and speed.
Main Results:
- Both children and adults demonstrated the LPE, with lower accuracy on low-prevalence target-present trials.
- Target-absent accuracy was high across all prevalence conditions for both groups.
- Children exhibited slower search times than adults, but this did not explain the LPE.
Conclusions:
- Young children are not immune to the low prevalence effect (LPE).
- Low target prevalence significantly impacts visual search performance in early development.
- Findings necessitate further research into children's visual attention in practical search scenarios.
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