Ruff and Capozzoli (2003) also found an effect on the type of attention based on age. In a
study of 172 children at ages 10, 26, and 42 months old, researchers coded attention during play
with toys as casual, settled, or focused. Overall, their results indicate a developmental transition
in the processes underlying attention during children’s play, such that casual attention decreased
while focused attention increased with age. Researchers found that even when the youngest, 10-
month-olds, were focused, they were more easily distracted than the older children. The oldest,
42-month-olds, were more focused, even in the presence of distracters. Kannass, Oakes, and
Shaddy (2006) corroborate this research. They found that at 31 months of age, children who are
effective at ignoring distracters are better able to maintain attention for longer durations during
multiple object free play. The results also indicate that typically developing preschoolers across
development are more effective than preschoolers with attention deficits at maintaining sustained
attention in tasks. Therefore, at around 3 years of age, typical development should show children
possessing more focused, sustained attention even when presented with distracters. In examining
iPad use effects on attention, this study hypothesizes that due to the many exogenous interactive
stimuli and constantly changing visual stimulation in iPad apps and games, children may not
learn to inhibit visual distracters, which may slow their development of visual spatial attention
span in circumstances without rapid exogenous stimulation.