Individual differences in attention and learning: A latent variable analysis

Abstract

Individual differences in attentional abilities and learning were examined in a latent variable study. Participants performed a variety of learning tasks while pupillary responses were recorded during learning (a measure of the intensity of attention) and participants provided self-reports of off-task thinking (a measure of the consistency of attention), learning strategies, motivation, and self-efficacy in some of the learning tasks. Participants also performed measures of attention control and working memory. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that attentional abilities were best represented as three separate factors (behavioral measures of broad attention control, pupillary measures of the intensity of attention, and self-reports of the consistency of attention) and each factor was correlated with the learning factor. Learning was also correlated with working memory, strategy use, motivation, and learning self-efficacy. These factors were differentially correlated with the attention factors. Structural equation modeling suggested that attention control had a direct relation with learning and also demonstrated indirect relations via strategy use and self-efficacy. The intensity of attention was related to learning via indirect relations with attention control, strategy use, and self-efficacy. The consistency of attention was related to learning indirectly via attention control and strategy use. The current results suggest that individual differences in attentional abilities are important for learning and these relations are due to a combination of cognitive, strategic, and conative factors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).