Distractor- based visual statistical learning affects attentional capture in elementary school students

This study investigated the developmental trajectory of distractor-based visual statistical learning (VSL) in elementary school children. Specifically, it examined whether children can learn to suppress salient distractors based on their location (spatial-based VSL) or their color (feature-based VSL), and how these abilities evolve between third and fifth grade.

Researchers conducted three experiments using an additional singleton task, where participants searched for a unique shape target while ignoring a salient distractor. In Experiment 1, distractors appeared at high-probability locations. In Experiment 2, distractors appeared in high-probability colors. Experiment 3 combined both spatial and feature regularities to test for additive benefits. The study also assessed executive functions (inhibitory control and working memory) to explore their relationship with VSL performance.

Results revealed an asynchronous developmental pattern. Spatial-based VSL was effective in both third and fifth graders, though fifth graders showed stronger suppression. In contrast, feature-based VSL was only observed in fifth graders; third graders failed to show an inhibitory benefit from color regularities. When spatial and feature regularities were combined, only fifth graders gained additional suppression benefits from consistency. Furthermore, individual differences in executive control—specifically inhibitory control and working memory updating—were significantly correlated with the magnitude of distractor suppression.

The findings suggest that the ability to suppress irrelevant information is not a monolithic skill but develops through distinct, resource-dependent pathways. The earlier emergence of spatial-based suppression likely reflects the privileged role of spatial information in visual processing, which is less cognitively demanding than the feature-based template matching required for color-based suppression. This study highlights that as children mature, their cognitive systems shift from simple spatial-based control to more complex, feature-based proactive suppression.