In a change detection task, adults outperform 4-to-5-year-olds on cued shapes while children outperform adults on uncued shapes¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 Adults detect changes in cued (task-relevant) shapes better than children, but children detect changes in uncued (task-irrelevant) shapes better than adults. → Plebanek 2017 q3 i3 The Age Group x Shape Type interaction on change detection accuracy is statistically significant. → Plebanek 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Plebanek 2017¶

Plebanek, D. J., & Sloutsky, V. M. (2017). Costs of Selective Attention: When Children Notice what Adults Miss. Psychological Science, 28(6), 723-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617693005

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Controlled experiment (Experiment 1) with 34 four- to five-year-olds and 35 adults recruited, of whom 7 children and 4 adults were excluded for poor performance, leaving 27 children and 31 adults in the analyses, performing a change detection task with overlaid red and green shapes, attention cued to one color. A-prime accuracies show adults ahead on cued shapes (d = 1.00) but children ahead on uncued shapes (d = −.59), "whereas they lagged behind children in detecting changes in irrelevant information".

"adults outperformed children in change detection for relevant information (.943 vs. .865), t(56) = 3.79, p < .001, d = 1.00, 95%, CI [.44, 1.54], whereas they lagged behind children in detecting changes in irrelevant information (.634 vs. .771), t(56) = −2.22, p = .030, d = .−59, 95% CI [−1.11, −.05]"

Plebanek 2017 (2)¶

Plebanek, D. J., & Sloutsky, V. M. (2017). Costs of Selective Attention: When Children Notice what Adults Miss. Psychological Science, 28(6), 723-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617693005

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

The same mixed ANOVA on A-prime change detection accuracies (2 Age x 2 Shape Type, Shape Type within-subjects) revealed the omnibus interaction: "There was a significant interaction, F(1,56) = 13.04, p < .001, η2 = .200", a large effect by the printed η².

"There was a significant interaction, F(1,56) = 13.04, p < .001, η2 = .200."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Net change detection accuracy does not differ significantly between children and adults — related
• In a visual search task, children recognize search-irrelevant features better than adults while relevant-feature recognition is comparable — related
• In a multimedia animation, participants focused more on signalled objects and detected fewer changes in other screen areas — related
• Adults show greater visual search accuracy than young children — related
• Age correlates with detection performance: hits and d′ increase and false alarms decrease with age — related
• Children's drawings suggested they noticed the robot's embedded integration elements and shifted attention from the robot to peer communication — related
• Children use qualitatively different strategies from adults for flexible cognition, shifting control strategies around 8 to 9 years of age — related
• Changes were detected more easily on screens presenting fewer objects (66.66%) — related