Date of Award
6-26-2026
Date Published
August 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Advisor(s)
Tanya Eckert
Second Advisor
Huilin Sun
Keywords
ADHD;eye-tracking;gaze duration;interference;visuo-spatial working memory
Subject Categories
Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 5-7% of children worldwide. Guided by the Attentional Network Theory (ANT), this study utilizes eye-tracking to enhance our understanding of attentional mechanisms underlying visuospatial working memory performance in children with ADHD. An extant dataset of children’s eye movements during a visuospatial working memory task with interfering distractors was analyzed. I (1) compared gaze durations on task-relevant stimuli and task-irrelevant distractors between children with and without ADHD, (2) examined how different types of distractors (emotional, neutral, visually similar) impact gaze duration on subsequent probes, and (3) analyzed associations between gaze durations and visuospatial working memory task performance (accuracy and reaction time). Results indicated that children with ADHD exhibited significantly shorter gaze durations toward both task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli compared to the control group. Distractor type significantly influenced gaze duration on the subsequent probe. Specifically, probes that followed emotional and visually similar distractors received longer gaze durations than probes that followed neutral distractors. Notably, there was no significant group by distractor type interaction, indicating that distractor effects impacted participants in both groups similarly. Lastly, gaze duration was not significantly associated with accuracy or reaction time in either group. Overall, these findings suggest that children with ADHD demonstrated reduced visual engagement during the visuospatial working memory task, but this reduced gaze duration did not directly explain task performance. The results also suggest that distractor type influenced subsequent attention in both groups, indicating that some attentional effects may reflect broader task-related processes rather than ADHD- specific differences.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Muamba, Mecca, "Eye Movement and Visuospatial Working Memory in Children with ADHD" (2026). Theses - ALL. 1054.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/1054
