Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7275028 | Journal of Experimental Child Psychology | 2015 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
Gaze is an important cue in social interaction. Gaze direction can attract attention and produce a cuing effect as well as cause inhibition of return (IOR)-a slower response to an item at a previously attended-to location. Because gaze cue is sensitive to an individual's social interaction ability and such ability matures in adolescents, we examined how social attention by gaze cue varies with age. Three typically developing groups-ages 6 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 15Â years-were recruited. Each age group had 27 participants. Three main findings were observed. First, younger participants generated greater cuing effects than older ones. Second, reliable gaze-induced IOR was observed only in the 9- to 12-year and 13- to 15-year age groups, whereas the 6- to 8-year age group paid attention to gaze direction regardless of cue duration. Third, the 13- to 15-year age group showed gaze-induced IOR earlier (1200Â ms) in the time course than expected (2400Â ms). Our results suggest that the inhibition mechanism develops later than the facilitation mechanism in social attention.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Psychology
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Authors
Li Jingling, Hui-Fang Lin, Chia-Jui Tsai, Chih-Chien Lin,