C ROSS - SITUATIONAL CONTEXTUAL CUEING AND SEARCH EFFICIENCY IN CHILDREN
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C ONTRIBUTION
O UR PARTICIPANTS • Easy start condition: n = 32
A computerized task displayed arrays of images (1280 × 800 resolution) on a laptop. Response time was measured with left or right button presses. Seahorses were aligned on an imaginary 4 × 12 grid.
Non-repeated
3.75
Repeated
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200 150
111 ms increase >>>
100 50 0
No smile target
Smile target
200 150 100 50
67 ms increase >>>
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Smile target
No smile target
Before switch
After switch
• The extent of contextual learning is influenced by visual search speed • Starting with slow search speeds initializes a highly efficient contextual learning trajectory
1.00
Uninformative context
1. Initial verbal instructions based on the starting condition 2. Training to use the buttons and how to find the right target 3. Initial phase of rapid target search with contextual cues (24 total trials)
0.25 0.00 1.00 0.75 0.50
Speed = -140.3 msec below avg.
0.25 0.00 0.00
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0.50
0.75
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S UMMARY OF RESULTS Forcing a more global visual search (through the presence or absence of features) results in increased sensitivity to contextual cues in children, which can be used to speed up search for the future. Furthermore, if a child adequately learns their surrounding context, it is less likely that spatial memory will be disrupted in different learning environments.
R EFERENCES [1]
4. Final phase of reversed target and distractor search (24 total trials)
Speed = 329.7 msec above avg.
Distribution of search efficiency
Informative context
S TAGES OF THE TASK
0.50
No smile target
• Half-way through, targets and distractors switch features, but locations are consistent (not shown)
0.75
Smile target
• Finding a target without a specific features takes more time than finding a target with an additional feature • This may be hard for children at first, but the outcome leads to better use of contextual information over simple searches
• Children eventually learn to use distracting items to find the target
• Goal switching: Target identities change half-way (we reversed images of targets and distractors)
4.00
T HE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF FEATURES
• If target is the Smiling Seahorse, distractors are Nonsmiling Seahorses, and vice versa
• Starting difficulty : Find the smiling seahorse first, or find the non-smiling seahorse first
4.25
Experiment phase
• Intermixed trials of repetitive and random distractors (these are nontarget items)
• Context: Repeated distractors (informative context) or random distractors (uninformative context)
3.25
T HE EFFECT OF SLOW SEARCH ON CONTEXTUAL CUEING
• Goal: Find the Smiling Seahorse!
W HAT WE MANIPULATED
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Block of trials
Easy start
I MAGES USED FOR CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
• Some evidence for contextual cueing is observed in as few as 24 trials with children
Difficult start
Sixty-one 3- to 6-year-old children participated in this study: • Difficult start condition: n = 29
M ATERIALS USED
• Contextual cueing can persist, despite the cost of switching targets
3.75
Easy start
• How fragile is contextual memory in young children?
• Observing contextual cueing in children depends on matches between child search skill and the type of stimulus used
• Easy targets reduce response time but do little for learning context
4.00
Difficult start
• What type of environment is best for contextual learning?
• Disruptions in spatial memory is related to extent of contextual learning ability
4.25
Switch Targets
• Do children implicitly learn their surrounding context to make searching more efficient?
• The degree of contextual learning depends on complexity in the environment
Switch Targets
How might children take advantage of a structured world to effectively manage their attention?
L EARNING CONTEXT UNDER DIFFERENT SITUATIONS
Density
P ROBLEM
Response time (sec)
H ANAKO YOSHIDA
Contextual cueing effect (ms)
J OSEPH M. B URLING
[2]
M. L. Dixon, P. D. Zelazo, and E. De Rosa, “Evidence for intact memoryguided attention in school-aged children,” Developmental Science, vol. 13, pp. 161–169, 2010. M. M. Chun, Y. Jiang et al., “Contextual cueing: Implicit learning and memory of visual context guides spatial attention,” Cognitive psychology, vol. 36, pp. 28–71, 1998.
F UNDING The project described was supported by Grant Number R01 HD058620 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. We would also like to thank the parents, children, and research assistants who participated in this study.
