Attention and self-regulation skills are trainable in children, with reported behavioral and neural changes across curricula and intervention programs¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2009 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? In its discussion, this ERP study's review of earlier work attributes to several studies that attention can be trained and that effective interventions exist for improving attention in children of all ages. → Stevens Courtney 2009

Evidence¶

Stevens Courtney 2009¶

Stevens, C., Lauinger, B., & Neville, H. (2009). Differences in the neural mechanisms of selective attention in children from different socioeconomic backgrounds: An event-related brain potential study. Developmental Science, 12(4), 634-646. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00807.x

q2 · i? · associational · r1

The article is an ERP study of selective attention in 32 children aged 3 to 8, grouped by maternal education; it ran no intervention. Its discussion reviews intervention work by others (Tools of the Mind, a computerized preschool attention training curriculum, prior attention training before a writing intervention), reported here second-hand with no pooled estimates; the article concludes "attention can indeed be trained".

"These studies suggest that attention can indeed be trained and that effective interventions exist for improving attention in children of all ages. Furthermore, at least two studies (Rueda et al., 2005; Stevens, Fanning et al., 2008) report that behavioral improvements in attention, nonverbal intelligence, and/or language and preliteracy are accompanied by changes in the neural mechanisms of attention"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Attention — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Selective attention improves neural encoding of attended speech envelopes in children aged 7–12
• Video-game play and mind-brain training literatures suggest the possibility of training selective attention — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Developmental differences in selective attention are related to neural systems for deploying attention and managing response conflict, while deployed selective attention acts through similar neural mechanisms across ages — related
• Metacognitive reflection training improves young children's DCCS performance, with behavioral and neural changes — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Chronic cardio exercise programs improve executive functions, attention, and behavior in children with ADHD — related
• Self-regulated learning improves achievement — related