Abstract
The Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) paradigm has been a staple psychometric tool in cognitive sciences for over three decades, primarily designed to assess the ability to track multiple items simultaneously and explore the limitations of select subcomponents of attention. The present study seeks to extend the paradigm’s application to real-world settings by investigating the paradigm's utility as a measure of sustained attention, while also considering individual differences in higher-order cognition, such as fluid reasoning intelligence. In this study, 61 typically developing adults completed the MOT task at varying demands of sustained attention (i.e., manipulations in trial durations consisting of 5, 8, 11, and 15 seconds). Participants also completed a measure of cognitive functioning via the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence – 2nd edition. The results demonstrated that fluid reasoning intelligence was a significant and robust predictor of MOT task performance across all trial lengths. Here, individuals with higher fluid reasoning scores outperformed those with lower scores, regardless of whether they also had high verbal intelligence, extending previous work examining the relationship between distributed attention and intelligence. Furthermore, performance on 8-second trials emerged as the best significant predictor of fluid reasoning intelligence, suggesting an optimal trial condition to characterize attention resource capacity for sustained attention. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence affirming the strong link between fluid reasoning intelligence and sustained attention capabilities as measured by the MOT. Moreover, they support the paradigm's effectiveness in differentiating attention resource capacities among individuals. This study also uncovers the clinical significance of these insights, highlighting the optimal conditions for evaluating attentional capabilities in individuals with and without attention deficits. Taken together these results advocate for the MOT's broader application in both research and clinical settings, emphasizing its value in isolating specific subcomponents of attention.