Visual Selective Attention in Letter Processing: a Comparative Study

Abstract

Selective visual attention maturation in childhood is highly dependent of the deve-lopment of visual-spatial processing, which at the same time keeps a close relation with learning, ambient, cultural factors and form which reading processes depend. Objective, to compare complex visual object processing in children from urban and rural environ-ments. The study has estimated the ability to recognize global and local aspects of visual patterns by measuring accuracy of response (AR) and reaction time (RT) to hierarchically organized letters. It was found a low level of accuracy in recognition of local features of hierarchical visual stimuli was found in both groups of children. Rural children had peculiarities of hierarchical stimulus recognition, they demonstrated lower AR of global features perception, shorter RT to incongruent stimuli combined with low AR, and absence of global precedence effect. The obtained results suggest quantitative and qualitative differences in responses of children during processing of complex visual characteristics of objects. The results suggest that social differences can influence on specific features of visuo-spatial perception, attention and learning skills of reading in children.