The UTC Graduate School is pleased to announce that Claire Beach will present Master’s research titled, Temperament Moderates the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Attentional Control on 03/06/2026 at 10:00 am in 540 McCallie Ave. Room 357. Everyone is invited to attend.
Psychology
Chair: Dr. Bret Eschman
Co-Chair:
Abstract:
Attentional control (AC) is an executive function referring to the ability to attend to pertinent information in the face of distractions. A cornerstone of higher-order cognition, AC plays an integral role in other cognitive processes such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are characterized by various forms of abuse and neglect experienced before the age of 18. Previous research has focused on the effect of ACEs on cognitive processes such as working memory. However, there is evidence to suggest that attentional control is fundamental to these processes, perhaps serving as the driving force behind this relationship. Temperament is an early-appearing variation in attention-related self-regulation that is thought to be largely influenced by genetics. In addition to examining the relationship between ACEs and AC, temperament will be evaluated for insight into a potential individual difference that could buffer/intensify the effects of ACE exposure. The goal of this study is to assess the effect of ACEs on attentional control, to examine the role of temperament as a protective/risk factor in this relationship, and to evaluate individual differences through the implementation of eye tracking. One hundred undergraduates from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be recruited for participation and incentivized with class credit. Each participant will complete the demographic questionnaire, the 77-item Adult Temperament Questionnaire – short form, and the 10-item ACEs survey. They will also engage in the antisaccade task with the incorporation of eye tracking. It is hypothesized that the number of ACEs will negatively affect AC performance, temperamental traits such as effortful control will serve as a protective factor and negative affect will serve as a risk factor in this relationship, and there will be a difference in AC performance based on the level of each temperament dimension.