It has been proposed that enhancing motivation supports the learning of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Less is known if inattentive children with no ADHD diagnosis may similarly benefit, when being motivated to engage in an academic task. Using a repeated-measures design, this study investigated the effects of text choice as an intrinsic motivator on the reading comprehension and enjoyment of Year 4 children attending mainstream primary schools (N = 92; aged 8–9 years; 48 boys); comparing those with no attentional difficulties and severe inattention. We hypothesized that 1) choice would increase reading comprehension and enjoyment 2) choice would increase the reading comprehension and enjoyment of children both with severe inattention and no attentional difficulties 3) choice effects would be significantly greater for children with severe inattention than those with no attentional difficulties. Children participated in a reading intervention that included a Choice (experimental) and a No Choice (control) condition. Child inattention was measured via a Virtual Reality Continuous Performance Task (Omission errors, Reaction Time Variability) and Teacher Ratings. Choice significantly increased reading comprehension, but not enjoyment compared with no choice. Choice improved the reading comprehension of children with both severe inattention and no attentional difficulties. Choice did not benefit the reading of severely inattentive children more than that of children with no attentional difficulties. These findings underline the educational benefits of choice for young readers both with severe inattention and no attentional difficulties, which are further discussed drawing on existing theory and research.

有人提出，增强动机支持注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 儿童的学习。如果没有被诊断为 ADHD 的注意力不集中的儿童在有动力从事学术任务时可能同样受益，则鲜为人知。本研究使用重复测量设计，调查了文本选择作为内在激励因素对主流小学 4 年级儿童阅读理解和享受的影响（N = 92; 8-9岁；48个男孩）；比较那些没有注意力困难和严重注意力不集中的人。我们假设 1) 选择会增加阅读理解和享受 2) 选择会增加重度注意力不集中和没有注意力困难的孩子的阅读理解和享受 3) 选择对重度注意力不集中的孩子的影响显着大于没有注意力的孩子困难。儿童参与了包括选择（实验）和无选择（对照）条件的阅读干预。儿童注意力不集中是通过虚拟现实连续表现任务（遗漏错误、反应时间可变性）和教师评级来衡量的。与没有选择相比，选择显着提高了阅读理解能力，但不是享受。选择提高了严重注意力不集中和没有注意力障碍的儿童的阅读理解能力。与没有注意力障碍的儿童相比，选择对严重注意力不集中的儿童的阅读有益。这些发现强调了选择对注意力不集中且没有注意力困难的年轻读者的教育益处，利用现有的理论和研究进一步讨论了这一点。