Beyond Focus: How Attention Shapes Learning Differently for Children and Adults

Children often surprise us with the details they remember—sometimes even better than adults! But what if their ability to learn comes not from focus, but from a broader, less selective attention? This episode unpacks research showing that while adults learn best when paying attention, children (ages 7-9) absorb information just as well, even when it’s irrelevant to their task. Could this be the secret behind their incredible learning abilities?
In this episode of Under the Cortex, host Özge Gürcanlı Fischer Baum speaks with Marlie Tandoc from the University of Pennsylvania who recently…