ATTENTIONAL DIFFERENCES IN CHILDRENS INCIDENTAL LEARNING

48 8- and 14-yr-old Ss were presented 3-part successive discrimination task: original learning, presentation of peripheral stimuli, and a test of recognition and recall of the peripheral material. 1/2 of the Ss at each level were instructed to learn the peripheral material (intentional learning) while the other 1/2 were given no instructions, (incidental learning). For 1/2 the Ss under each of these conditions, the peripheral material was conceptually related; for the other 1/2 the peripheral material was unrelated. The results supported a 2-stage process underlying incidental learning attention and information processing. Little incidental learning was shown by 8-yr-old Ss primarily because they failed to attend to the peripheral material unless specifically instructed to do so. On the other hand, 14-yr-old Ss attended to the peripheral material whether specifically instructed to learn it or not, but processed the information only when an organizational strategy was readily available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.