Metacognitive Components of Visual Search in Children

Abstract

Two studies examined children's increasing ability to analyze tasks in terms of the perceptual features that affect task difficulty. Of particular interest was any understanding that perceptual confusions occur during the search for an object surrounded by objects similar in shape or color to that object. In Study 1, 32 pre-schoolers constructed arrays intended to make the search easy or difficult. They made the search difficult simply by putting many toys into the toy box. In a forced-choice situation, they indicated that task difficulty was influenced by the number of objects and the similarity in color and shape of the targets and the surrounding objects. Study 2 more thoroughly examined knowledge of color and shape confusions, using 96 children from Grades K, 1, 3, and 4, assigned to two age groups. The older children but not the younger ones showed a significant understanding of color and shape confusions. Both age groups understood that performance is affected by a person's interest level and degree of attention to the task. The results were discussed in terms of the accessibility of the children's knowledge under different conditions.

Selective search for conjunctively defined targets by children and young adults

“…The perceptual processing advantage of adults relative to children may also be due, at least in part, to diVerences in perceptual learning, a skill that also improves with experience and developmental level (Goldstone, 1998). In addition, the ability to select, eVectively use, and monitor task-speciWc, goaldirected strategies inXuences visual search performance and varies with developmental level (e.g., Day, 1978;Enns & Aktar, 1989;Miller, Haynes, & Weiss, 1985;Pick, Christy, & Frankel, 1972). Hence, performance diVerences in visual search may also reXect general age-related diVerences in executive functions (e.g., Borkowski & Burke, 1996;Denkla, 1996).…”

Analysis of omission and commission errors in a visual search task by school-age children (Análisis de errores de omisión y comisión en una tarea de búsqueda visual en niños de edad escolar)

“…Attention in general, and visual search in particular, usually require the adequate development of other cognitive processes (e.g., processing speed, working memory) and usually occur as the consequence of many interactions and transactions typical of developing systems, resulting in effects spread across different domains (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010). Improvements are also attributed to mechanisms such as peripheral visual acuity (Akhtar, 1990), the ability to perform eye movements and shift the focus of attention (Pearson & Lane, 1991) and the ability to coordinate complex activities (Miller et al, 1985). All this indicates that the decrease in the number of errors can probably be attributed to an increasingly complex development of all these factors.…”

“…La atención en general, y la búsqueda visual en particular, suelen requerir del adecuado desarrollo de otros procesos cognitivos (e.g., velocidad de procesamiento; memoria de trabajo) y suelen darse como la consecuencia de muchas interacciones y transacciones propias de los sistemas en desarrollo resultando en efectos diseminados a lo largo de diferentes dominios (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010). Las mejoras también se atribuyen a mecanismos como la agudeza visual periférica (Akhtar, 1990), la capacidad de realizar movimientos oculares y mover el foco de atención (Pearson & Lane, 1991), y la capacidad de coordinar actividades complejas (Miller et al, 1985). Todo esto señala que probablemente la disminución en la cantidad de errores pueda atribuirse a un desarrollo en cascada cada vez más complejo del conjunto de estos factores.…”