The importance of attention for variation in learning to learn

The importance of attention for variation in learning to learn
Nash Unsworth, Ashley L. Miller (2025)

Individuals differ in their abilities to learn how to learn and thus change their approach to a specific task.

Learning to learn was associated with increased intensity and consistency of attention.

Learning to learn is associated with changes in attention management during a task.


Abstract

Individual differences in learning to learn were examined in two studies. Participants performed a paired associates learning task across multiple trials. During learning task-evoked pupillary responses (as a measure of the intensity of attention) and fluctuations in baseline pupillary diameter (as a measure of arousal regulation) were measured. Participants were also presented with thought-probes to assess off-task thoughts and the consistency of attention during learning. Participants also completed measures of working memory and long-term memory, and self-reported their motivation, self-efficacy, and encoding strategies. Across both studies, the results suggested that participants who demonstrated more learning to learn tended to demonstrate increased pupillary responses across lists (indicating an increase in intensity/attentional effort), tended to sustain their attention and prevent off-task thoughts across lists, and tended to maintain arousal levels (less fluctuations in baseline pupil diameter) across lists better than participants who demonstrated less learning to learn. Learning to learn also demonstrated weaker relations with motivation and effective strategy use. Collectively, these results suggest that individual differences in learning to learn are associated with variation in the ability to manage different aspects of attention during learning as well as motivational and strategic factors.