The Effects of a Pay-Off Matrix on Selective Attention

摘要

Recall of information of differential value was studied in children at each of two CA levels: 11.0 and 14.7 years. Ss were retarded and the respective MA levels were 8.0 and 10.6 years. Two stimulus dimensions were used; one was designated primary and had a greater reward value than the other, designated secondary. Four primary and four secondary stimuli were presented and then the location of one primary and one secondary stimuli was to be recalled. A total of 12 trials was presented. It was found that significantly more primary than secondary stimuli were recalled. The expected improvement as a function of CA level was not found. The Ss at the younger CA level showed significant improvement in the last half of the trials as compared to the first half. No improvement was shown by the older Ss. The implications of the results were discussed in terms of the development of attention and information processing abilities.