Effect of Gender in Development of Attention in Malayalam Speaking children

Cognitive function such as attention is essential for learning, memory, daily functioning and overall quality of life. Understanding the multitude of this cognitive process, including potential gender differences, is crucial for developing tailored interventions and educational strategies. Studies that investigate the gender differences in cognitive-linguistic abilities of young children are sparse in the Indian context. Findings in this direction has revealed potential gender based differences in attention; however the findings are mixed. The current study aims to investigate these claims by exploring the impact of gender on attention development in Malayalam speaking children. 40 children between the age ranges of 4-8 years participated in the study. Equal number of males and females were included. The participants were chosen from regular schools in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. ‘Cognitive Linguistic Assessment Protocol for Children in Malayalam’, which assesses attention/discrimination, memory, and problem-solving tasks, was used for the study. The findings suggested that, there was a remarkable difference in visual discrimination task between the genders. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the attention tasks. This research supports the notion that attention development is largely influenced was not influenced by gender.