Attention is the basis for all that we perceive, learn, and remember, and sets the foundation for developmental outcomes such as socioemotional skills and school readiness. However prior research on attention has been limited in its generalizability to the natural environment, due to primarily using static or nonsocial stimuli. This dissertation investigates the developmental significance of multisensory attention skills (MASks; intersensory matching, shifting/disengaging, sustained attention, resistance to distractors) in children by examining their effect on school readiness and socioemotional outcomes. We used the Multisensory Attention Assessment Protocol (MAAP; Bahrick et al., 2018), a novel measure of attention to dynamic, multisensory social and nonsocial events in infants and children. Children aged 12 to 36 months (ns=82–91) were evaluated using the MAAP, parent questionnaires, and direct assessments of children’s cognitive and socioemotional skills. In Manuscript 1, correlations revealed that better MASks (more accurate intersensory matching and faster shifting/disengaging), particularly during social events (e.g., women speaking) and in less distracting contexts, were linked to fewer internalizing and dysregulation symptoms at 36 months of age. Manuscript 2 further explored these relations by evaluating the role of MASks as predictors of internalizing and dysregulation, while controlling for parental depression and socioeconomic status (SES). SEMs revealed that both better MASks (more accurate intersensory matching and faster shifting/disengaging during social events) and fewer parental depression symptoms emerged as predictors of lower internalizing and dysregulation symptoms at 36 months of age. In Manuscript 3, better infant MASks (more accurate intersensory matching and greater resistance to distractors during social events at 12 months of age) predicted greater self-regulation, as well as higher literacy and mathematics scores at 48 to 72 months, independent of SES and self-regulation. In conclusion, this dissertation demonstrated that MASks (particularly during social events) play a foundational role in later academic and socioemotional outcomes. These findings highlight MASks as a potential tool for identifying children at risk for cognitive and socioemotional challenges and as promising early targets for interventions aimed at promoting school readiness and socioemotional outcomes.

Date: November 07, 2025                                                                 Department: Psychology

Time: 2:00 pm                                                                                    

Major Professor: Dr. Lorraine E. Bahrick

Place: DM 223

Zoom: https://fiu.zoom.us/j/85987174571?pwd=EqGYIlU1DMSQ5XG3wPPayGkkgZhjhz.1