Effects of event rate and display time on sustained attention in hyperactive, normal, and control children
- 1 August 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
- Vol. 17 (4), 371-391
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00915033
Abstract
Two experiments were conducted to determine whether hyperactive boys have a unique deficit in sustained attention. Groups with DSM-III diagnoses of attention deficit disorder (ADDH), conduct disorder (CD), ADDH+CD, and learning disorder were compared with normal controls on the Continuous Performance Task. In Experiment 1, stimulus presentation rate (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) and display time were varied to manipulate attentional demand, and speed and accuracy of performance were measured. The ADDH group was uniquely affected, with less accurate performance at the fastest and slowest SOA. To distinguish the effects of time on task and SOA, the duration of each SOA condition was held constant in Experiment 2. The poorer performance of the ADDH group at the fastest SOA was no longer evident. This finding indicates that the deficit of sustained attention in boys who have ADDH is associated with a greater susceptibility to refractory effects, which is influenced by practice.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER WITH HYPERACTIVITY: A CRITIQUEJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1986
- Review of follow-up and follow-back studies of childhood hyperactivity.Psychological Bulletin, 1984
- Review of follow-up and follow-back studies of childhood hyperactivity.Psychological Bulletin, 1984
- Signal detection in vigilance tasks and behavioral attributes among offspring of schizophrenic mothers and among hyperactive children.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1983
- Normalizing Effects of Methylphenidate on Hyperactive Children's Vigilance Performance and Evoked PotentialsPsychophysiology, 1981
- THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SITUATIONALLY AND PERVASIVELY HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR SYNDROME DEFINITIONJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1981
- A CRITICAL NOTE ON THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF "THE HYPERKINETIC SYNDROME"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1979
- Hyperkinetic Disorder in Psychiatric Clinic AttendersDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 1978
- ATTENTION IN HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN AND THE EFFECT OF METHYLPHENIDATE (RITALIN) *Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1971
- A CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOUR QUESTIONNAIRE FOR COMPLETION BY TEACHERS: PRELIMINARY FINDINGSJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1967