Introduction of the Utrecht Tasks for Attention in Toddlers Using Eye Tracking (UTATE): A Pilot Study

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2016 May 21

PMID 27199880

Citations 8

Authors

Marjanneke de Jong

Marjolein Verhoeven

Ignace T C Hooge

Anneloes L van Baar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Attention capacities underlie everyday functioning from an early age onwards. Little is known about attentional processes at toddler age. A feasible assessment of attention capacities at toddler age is needed to allow further study of attention development. In this study, a test battery is piloted that consists of four tasks which intend to measure the attention systems orienting, alerting, and executive attention: the Utrecht Tasks of Attention in Toddlers using Eye tracking [UTATE]. The UTATE assesses looking behavior that may reflect visual attention capacities, by using eye-tracking methods. This UTATE was studied in 16 Dutch 18-month-old toddlers. Results showed that the instrument is feasible and generates good quality data. A first indication of sufficient reliability was found for most of the variables. It is concluded that the UTATE can be used in further studies. Further evaluation of the reliability and validity of the instrument in larger samples is worthwhile.

Citing Articles

Observing mother-child interaction in a free-play vs. a structured task context and its relationship with preterm and term born toddlers' psychosocial outcomes.

Krijnen L, Verhoeven M, van Baar A Front Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025; 2():1176560.

PMID: 39816871 PMC: 11731966. DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2023.1176560.

Orienting and Alerting Attention in Very Low and Normal Birth Weight Children at 42 Months: A Follow-up Study.

Nakagawa A, Sukigara M, Nomura K, Nagai Y, Miyachi T J Atten Disord. 2024; 29(4):244-255.

PMID: 39727241 PMC: 11697503. DOI: 10.1177/10870547241306557.

Voluntary Attention Assessing Tests in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using Eye Tracking.

Rebreikina A, Zakharchenko D, Shaposhnikova A, Korotkov N, Klimov Y, Batysheva T Children (Basel). 2024; 11(11).

PMID: 39594908 PMC: 11593026. DOI: 10.3390/children11111333.

Early Screening of Visual Processing Dysfunctions in Children Born Very or Extremely Preterm.

Kooiker M, van Gils M, van der Zee Y, Swarte R, Smit L, Loudon S Front Hum Neurosci. 2021; 15:729080.

PMID: 34790105 PMC: 8591256. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.729080.

Exploring predictors at toddler age of distinct profiles of attentional functioning in 6-year-old children born moderate-to-late preterm and full term.

Bogicevic L, Verhoeven M, van Baar A PLoS One. 2021; 16(7):e0254797.

PMID: 34324546 PMC: 8320975. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254797.

References

Gredeback G, Stasiewicz D, Falck-Ytter T, von Hofsten C, Rosander K . Action type and goal type modulate goal-directed gaze shifts in 14-month-old infants. Dev Psychol. 2009; 45(4):1190-4. DOI: 10.1037/a0015667. View

Sheese B, Rothbart M, Posner M, White L, Fraundorf S . Executive attention and self-regulation in infancy. Infant Behav Dev. 2008; 31(3):501-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2008.02.001. View

Diamond A, Doar B . The performance of human infants on a measure of frontal cortex function, the delayed response task. Dev Psychobiol. 1989; 22(3):271-94. DOI: 10.1002/dev.420220307. View

Duncan G, Dowsett C, Claessens A, Magnuson K, Huston A, Klebanov P . School readiness and later achievement. Dev Psychol. 2007; 43(6):1428-1446. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428. View

Nystrom M, Andersson R, Holmqvist K, van de Weijer J . The influence of calibration method and eye physiology on eyetracking data quality. Behav Res Methods. 2012; 45(1):272-88. DOI: 10.3758/s13428-012-0247-4. View

Amso D, Johnson S . Development of Visual Selection in 3- to 9-Month-Olds: Evidence From Saccades to Previously Ignored Locations. Infancy. 2009; 13(6):675-686. PMC: 2662615. DOI: 10.1080/15250000802459060. View

Van de Weijer-Bergsma E, Wijnroks L, Jongmans M . Attention development in infants and preschool children born preterm: a review. Infant Behav Dev. 2008; 31(3):333-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.12.003. View

Atkinson J, Braddick O . Visual attention in the first years: typical development and developmental disorders. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2012; 54(7):589-95. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04294.x. View

Smeets J, Hooge I . Nature of variability in saccades. J Neurophysiol. 2003; 90(1):12-20. DOI: 10.1152/jn.01075.2002. View

10.

Paulus M, Hunnius S, Bekkering H . Can 14- to 20-month-old children learn that a tool serves multiple purposes? A developmental study on children's action goal prediction. Vision Res. 2011; 51(8):955-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2010.12.012. View

11.

Aslin R, McMurray B . Automated Corneal-Reflection Eye Tracking in Infancy: Methodological Developments and Applications to Cognition. Infancy. 2021; 6(2):155-163. DOI: 10.1207/s15327078in0602_1. View

12.

Gredeback G, Johnson S, von Hofsten C . Eye tracking in infancy research. Dev Neuropsychol. 2010; 35(1):1-19. DOI: 10.1080/87565640903325758. View

13.

de Jong M, Verhoeven M, Hooge I, van Baar A . Factor Structure of Attention Capacities Measured With Eye-Tracking Tasks in 18-Month-Old Toddlers. J Atten Disord. 2013; 20(3):230-9. DOI: 10.1177/1087054713516002. View

14.

Oakes L . Advances in Eye Tracking in Infancy Research. Infancy. 2020; 17(1):1-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7078.2011.00101.x. View

15.

Bertenthal B, Gredeback G, Boyer T . Differential contributions of development and learning to infants' knowledge of object continuity and discontinuity. Child Dev. 2012; 84(2):413-21. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12005. View

16.

Rose S, Feldman J, Jankowski J . Information Processing in Toddlers: Continuity from Infancy and Persistence of Preterm Deficits. Intelligence. 2010; 37(3):311-320. PMC: 2706531. DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2009.02.002. View

17.

Hunnius S, Bekkering H . The early development of object knowledge: a study of infants' visual anticipations during action observation. Dev Psychol. 2010; 46(2):446-54. DOI: 10.1037/a0016543. View

18.

Berger A, Jones L, Rothbart M, Posner M . Computerized games to study the development of attention in childhood. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 2000; 32(2):297-303. DOI: 10.3758/bf03207798. View

19.

Posner M, Petersen S . The attention system of the human brain. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1990; 13:25-42. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325. View

20.

Hooge I, Camps G . Scan path entropy and arrow plots: capturing scanning behavior of multiple observers. Front Psychol. 2014; 4:996. PMC: 3872074. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00996. View