Multifocal attention is the ability to simultaneously attend to multiple objects, and is critical for typical functioning. Although adults are able to use multifocal attention, little is known about the development of this ability. In two experiments, we investigated multifocal attention in 6-8-year-old children and adults using a child-friendly, computerized multiple object tracking task designed to encourage the use of multifocal attention. We also investigated whether multifocal attention in children is deployed independently across left and right hemifields of vision, as in adults. Our results suggest that children's capacity for multifocal attention increases significantly across middle childhood. We also found evidence that at least one signature of hemifield-independent multifocal attention, the bilateral field advantage, can be observed in children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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通过多焦点注意力开发多目标跟踪。

多焦点注意力是同时关注多个对象的能力，对于典型的功能至关重要。尽管成年人能够使用多焦点注意力，但人们对这种能力的发展知之甚少。在两个实验中，我们使用儿童友好的计算机化多对象跟踪任务调查了 6-8 岁儿童和成人的多焦点注意力，该任务旨在鼓励使用多焦点注意力。我们还调查了儿童的多焦点注意力是否像成人一样在左右视野中独立部署。我们的研究结果表明，儿童的多焦点关注能力在整个童年中期显着增加。我们还发现证据表明，至少有一个独立于半场的多焦点注意力的特征，即双侧场优势，可以在儿童中观察到。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。