Assessing Social Cognition: A New Instrumental Paradigm Based on Contingent Feedback. Issue 3 (7th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bertin, Evelin; Wong, Charlene; Striano, Tricia
• Other Names: Henning Anne guestEditor.; Zmyj Norbert guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Infant and child development. Volume 25:Issue 3(2016:May/Jun.)
• Page Start: 323
• Page End: 332
• Publication Date: 2016-03-07
• Subjects: contingency -- social cognition -- triadic attention -- cognitive development; Child development -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Parenting -- Periodicals; Child rearing -- Periodicals; 155.405
• DOI: 10.1002/icd.1964
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1522-7227

Abstract

Abstract : Seven‐ to 12‐month‐olds were trained to press levers that contingently activated lights. Infants had the choice of turning on either a light an adult interaction partner was looking at or a light that she turned away from. By 9 months, infants reliably turned on the light that the adult was looking at. In a second study, 9‐ and 12‐month‐old infants could see the adult's upper body but not her face during the test. Nine‐month‐old infants showed the same pattern of results as in Study 1. However, turning on the light that the adult looked at dropped to chance level for 12‐month‐olds. Results suggest that feedback from movement cues might influence infants' behaviour at 9 and 12 months of age but that shared visual attention with others may drive infants' behaviour by 12 months. The new paradigm provides a new method to assess the development of social cognitive skills among infants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.