The effect of developmental regulation on visual attention: The example of the "biological clock"

Abstract

The current study investigated the attentional mechanisms associated with goal engagement and disengagement in a lifespan context. Women approaching the end of their childbearing years (N = 29) were compared with women who had passed that deadline (N = 28). Participants' goal engagement was measured with a goal nomination task, an incidental recall task of goal-relevant sentences, visual attention to goal-relevant vs. goal-irrelevant images, and a memory task of goal-relevant images. The attention data indicated that women approaching the deadline had a longer first fixation on baby images than women who had passed the deadline. This novel finding was supported by a replication of the previous finding that women approaching the deadline were more engaged with the goal of childbearing than women who had passed the deadline. The connection between attention and memory of goal-relevant information is explored as evidence of cognition working in the service of motivation and developmental regulation.