Theoretical Notes Incidental Learning and the Development of Selective Attention

The incidental learning paradigm has provided two well-established findings concerning the development of selective attention: (a) The difference between central and incidental task performance increases with age, and (b) the correlation between central and incidental performance decreases with age. It has generally been assumed that these results reflect a developmental increase in the ability to process information selectively. In the present article it is argued that neither of these findings constitutes unambiguous support for the view that attentional selectivity improves with age. It is suggested that recent theory and research on capacity trade-offs in dual-task performance provide a potentially valuable alternative framework for understanding the development of attentional processes.