AD/HD and the capture of attention by briefly exposed delay-related cues: evidence from a conditioning paradigm.
BACKGROUND
The selective attention of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) to briefly exposed delay-related cues was examined in two experiments using a dot-probe conditioning paradigm.


METHODS
Colour cues were paired with negatively (i.e., imposition of delay) and positively valenced cues (i.e., escape from or avoidance of delay) during a conditioning phase. These cues were presented alongside neutral cues in a subsequent dot-probe detection phase.


RESULTS
In experiment 1 teacher-identified children with AD/HD (N = 12), but not controls (N = 12), displayed an attentional bias towards both positively and negatively valenced cues. In experiment 2 children with a diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder (N = 15), but not controls (N = 15), displayed a bias towards delay-related cues. However, this effect was largely carried by the response to positively valenced cues.


CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm the dot-probe conditioning paradigm as a useful test of motivational influence on attention. They provide the first evidence of qualitative differences in the attentional style of children with AD/HD and give further support to those theories that highlight the motivational significance of delay in AD/HD.
Centre for Research into Psychological Development, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield, UK. ejb3@soton.ac.uk
Edmund J S
EJ
Sonuga-Barke
Jan
J
De Houwer
Karen
K
De Ruiter
Michal
M
Ajzenstzen
Sarah
S
Holland
D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011930:Reaction Time; D017748:Time Management