Attentional Control Is a Stable Construct in Infancy but Not Steadily Linked With Self-Regulatory Functions in Toddlerhood

Attentional control in infancy has been postulated as foundational for self-regulation later in life. However, the empirical evidence supporting this claim is inconsistent. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal data from a sample of Swedish infants (6, 10, and 18 months, n = 118, 59 boy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2022-07, Vol.58 (7), p.1221-1236
Main Authors: Tu, Hsing-Fen, Lindskog, Marcus, Gredebäck, Gustaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention
Attention Control
Attentional processes
Child development
Cognitive Control
Cognitive Processes
effortful control
Executive Function
Eye Movements
Eye tracking
eye-tracking paradigm
Female
Foreign Countries
Human
Infancy
Infant Development
Infants
information processing
Internal Consistency
Male
Self Control
Self regulation
Sustained Attention
Toddlers
Tracking
Visual Tracking
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Summary:Attentional control in infancy has been postulated as foundational for self-regulation later in life. However, the empirical evidence supporting this claim is inconsistent. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal data from a sample of Swedish infants (6, 10, and 18 months, n = 118, 59 boys) across a broad set of eye-tracking tasks to find stable markers of attention. Two attention indices showed a high degree of stability and internal consistency but were not related to self-regulatory functions measures at 18 or 30 months. Our findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that a relation between attentional control and self-regulation is unsupported. We discuss the need for a revision of the idea of attention as foundational for self-regulation.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/dev0001362