Attention of Three-, Four-, and Five-year Old Children and Their Performance of Cognitive Tasks: An EEG Analysis Study
AUTHOR : 박윤현,김보경,이순형
INFORMATION : page. 107~134 / 2017 Vol.24 No.4
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to confirm if children’s attention is dependent on their age and sex, and
also the kind of a task when they are carrying out cognitive tasks. Furthermore, the relationship between
the attention and performance of children was investigated. Sixty children (20 each three-, four-, and
five-year olds, 10 boys and 10 girls) of a kindergarten in Gyeonggi were recruited as participants. The
logico-mathematical task set was presented to the children and the electroencephalogram (EEG) of children
was measured while they were performing the tasks. The response and the response time of the children
were recorded. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS program. The results show that children’s
attention during cognitive activities does not depend on their age and sex. However, they are dependent
on the kind of the task. The level of attention was highest when children were performing the
categorization task, followed by the pattern task, and finally the discrimination and seriation tasks. There
was no correlation between the children’s attention and their performance. These results suggest that
attentional resource acts as a basic element for cognitive activities and it can be differently utilized based
on the level of cognitive processing required to perform each task. In addition, this empirical data can
provide implications to compositions of cognitive tasks or programs that strengthen children’s attentional
competency in early childhood education.