The attentional blink in developing readers

The attentional blink refers to a reduction in accuracy that occurs when identifying the second of two targets presented within approximately 500 msec of each other. This research explored individual differences in the attentional blink in a sample of 86 children (aged 8-10) with normally developing reading skills. The attentional blink was examined in relation to general reading performance as well as specific orthographic and phonological reading subprocesses. No associations were evident between attentional blink duration and reading ability. However significant correlations did exist between each of the three reading measures and mean second target correct given first target correct (T2|T1) performance across all lags, with less skilled readers exhibiting inferior performance regardless of the temporal lag between first and second targets. Performance on a rapid naming task mediated some of the relationship between mean T2|T1 performance and reading, yet the association remained significant when this factor was accounted for.