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Clinical Psychology and Special Education
2026. Vol. 15, no. 1, 51–63
doi:10.17759/cpse.2026150104
ISSN: 2304-0394 (online)

Distribution of attention during category learning in children with autism spectrum disorders

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Category learning plays a key role in cognitive development from infancy. In the process of category learning, adults tend to use selective attention, focusing on the main features of objects, while children use distributed attention, analyzing multiple features simultaneously. The use of selective attention can lead to learning difficulties in new conditions, where the previously learned rule becomes ineffective, and a new one needs to be identified. In such situations, adults, due to selective attention, are less successful than children. Studies indicate that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might demonstrate unique patterns of attention distribution in contrast to neurotypical children during category learning tasks. Objective. This study investigates attention allocation during category learning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods and materials. Involving 39 participants, including neurotypical children and adults, the research assessed how they distinguished categories based on a single rule before shifting to a new one with different relevant features. Results. Findings revealed that both adults and children with ASD struggled more after this shift, with children with ASD showing a significant drop in success rates. This suggests that difficulties in learning within this group are associated with the use of selective attention and the processing of new information.

General Information

Keywords: category learning, autism spectrum disorder, cognitive mechanisms, selective attention

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2026150104

Funding. The study was conducted within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Acknowledgements. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Center for the Support of Children and Adults with Mental Disabilities and Their Families “Creating Together” and the head of the organization, N.V. Nikulina, for their assistance in collecting data for this study.

Received 05.11.2024

Revised 28.11.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Luzhnova, K.N., Kotova, T.N., Kotov, A.A. (2026). Distribution of attention during category learning in children with autism spectrum disorders. Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 15(1), 51–63. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2026150104

© Luzhnova K.N., Kotova T.N., Kotov A.A., 2026

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Kseniia N. Luzhnova, Research Intern, Postgraduate Student: Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Psychology Research and Educational Laboratory of Cognitive Research, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9515-7152, e-mail: lunina.ks43@gmail.com

Tatyana N. Kotova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Senior Researcher, Laboratory for the Cognitive Research, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2583-1922, e-mail: tkotova@gmail.com

Alexey A. Kotov, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Senior Researcher, Laboratory for Cognitive Research, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4426-4265, e-mail: akotov@hse.ru

Contribution of the authors

The authors contributed equally to the research, data analysis, and preparation of this manuscript.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

The participants (or their parents/legal guardians) signed an informed consent to participate in the study.

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