Characterizing preschool children's attention regulation in parent–child interactions: The roles of effortful control and motivation

This study examined relations among effortful control, motivation, and attention regulation in preschoolers within the context of parent–child interactions. Sixty-one low-income children and their mothers participated in a puzzle-matching task. One week later, the children completed a puzzle-matching task independently. Hierarchical regression analyses supported the hypothesis that children's effortful control and motivation is related to the amount of children's attention regulation in the parent–child interaction. The role of effortful control on attention regulation differed for children classified as having mastery- or performance-oriented motivation. Analyses also supported the hypothesis that children's effortful control, motivation and attention regulation predicted children's accuracy on the puzzle-task when working independently. Findings from this study demonstrate the utility of studying individual differences in temperament, motivation, and attention regulation within the context of the parent–child learning environment. Implications for understanding how children's social–cognitive status is related to academic success in impoverished environments are discussed.