Abstract
Attentional processes play an integral role in learning, affecting performance on most cognitive tasks. In addition, feedback - instant information delivered to the individual that guides their subsequent behavior in relevant situations - plays a critical role in the efficiency and quality of learning. However, its effects are not often empirically assessed. Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) tasks were developed to objectively assess real world attention, and have been used as cognitive training paradigms geared at improving attentional abilities. With training, there is a significant improvement in MOT performance; however, little is known about the transferability of attentional capacities from MOT tasks to similar cognitive tasks. The goal of this study was thus to assess whether performance on attentional capacities acquired during training on a 3D MOT task are transferrable to other measures of attention. The role of feedback was also investigated to determine whether performance, and its subsequent transferability to other measures, is affected by feedback. Forty typically developing adults participated in 4 testing sessions on consecutive days. On day 1, intellectual and attentional abilities were assessed along with a baseline measure of MOT without feedback. Participants were split into 2 experimental groups and assessed for three subsequent days (days 2 through 4): one group received feedback during the MOT task trials; the other group received no feedback. On day 4, all participants were re-assessed on the same attentional measures as well as the MOT to determine improvements from day 1. MOT performance resulted significantly higher for the feedback group, as defined by an increased speed threshold for tracking 4 out of 8 items. The feedback group also revealed better transferability to other cognitive tasks. The results indicate that feedback is an important component during a learning regiment and that it may affect transferability of cognitive abilities.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014