Lewis Frances C, Reeve Robert A, Kelly Simon P, Johnson Katherine A
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College, Dublin, Ireland.
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2017 Aug;79(6):1726-1741. doi: 10.3758/s13414-017-1351-4.
Response time variability (RTV) is a useful measure of sustained attention; however, little is known about developmental changes in RTV at different temporal frequencies. Thirty-five 6-year-olds, 31 8-year-olds, and 37 10-year-olds completed the fixed-sequence Sustained Attention to Response Task on three occasions, six months apart. Fast Fourier Transform and ex-Gaussian analyses of response time (RT) data assessed momentary fluctuations in RT, gradual changes in RT, and very long responses, thought to reflect attentional control fluctuations, slow-shifting arousal, and infrequent lapses in attention, respectively. A half-by-half analysis measured within-occasion time-on-task effects. The 10-to 11-year-olds performed with less momentary fluctuations in RT, fewer long responses, and fewer commission and omission errors than the younger groups. This group performed well in the first half of the task but showed time-on-task effects on measures of momentary fluctuations in RT, very long responses, target sensitivity (d'), and commission errors. The 6- to 7-year-olds performed less well than the older groups, and showed time-on-task effects, on almost all measures. The 8- to- 9-year-olds mostly performed at an intermediate level compared with the other groups; however, this group performed with a similar level of momentary fluctuations in RT and very long responses as the 6- to 7-year-olds. These findings indicate that there is ongoing maturation of various aspects of sustained attention on a predictable task, with a period of relative stability in performance between 8 and 9 years of age.
反应时间变异性（RTV）是持续注意力的一项有用指标；然而，对于不同时间频率下RTV的发育变化却知之甚少。35名6岁儿童、31名8岁儿童和37名10岁儿童分三次完成了固定序列的持续注意力反应任务，每次间隔6个月。对反应时间（RT）数据进行快速傅里叶变换和前高斯分析，以评估RT的瞬间波动、RT的逐渐变化以及极长反应，这些分别被认为反映了注意力控制波动、缓慢变化的唤醒以及偶尔的注意力不集中。一种半对半分析测量了任务过程中的时间效应。与较年幼的组相比，10至11岁的儿童在RT的瞬间波动、长反应以及错误率方面表现更好。该组在任务的前半部分表现良好，但在RT的瞬间波动、极长反应、目标敏感度（d'）和错误率等测量指标上表现出任务过程中的时间效应。6至7岁的儿童表现不如年龄较大的组，并且在几乎所有测量指标上都表现出任务过程中的时间效应。与其他组相比，8至9岁的儿童大多表现处于中等水平；然而，该组在RT的瞬间波动和极长反应方面与6至7岁的儿童表现相当。这些发现表明，在一项可预测的任务中，持续注意力的各个方面正在不断成熟，在8至9岁之间存在一段表现相对稳定的时期。
