Poster #7 - Perseverative Looking and Orienting Effects During the First Year

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

Developmental scientists studying infant attention often analyze novelty preference data collected during paired-comparison tasks. To produce a novelty preference, measured as a percentage of total looking, infants could vary either look duration or look number. Previous work using cross-sectional data collected at ages 3, 5, 7, or 9 months indicated that look duration accounted for 75% of the variance in looking; look number accounted for only 10% of the variance. Correlations between percent novel and look duration increased throughout the first year, reaching .92 by age 9 months (see Table 1). Correlations between percent novel and look number varied throughout the year but were the lowest at 9 months. The purpose of the current study was to analyze orienting effects from this study to better understand these data. Data are from 76 infants tested with a paired-comparison task in which 40 novel stimuli, seen once during the session, were paired with a familiar stimulus that reappeared on every trial. Infants saw 8-sec videos of either moving geometric shapes or rotating toys. To measure orienting effects, the duration and location of every look was identified with location first defined as familiar or novel stimuli (stimulus effects) and then defined as the preferred or nonpreferred side of the display (side effects). Contrasting stimulus effects with side effects should clarify whether infants were voluntarily orienting attention toward novel stimuli, or whether the preferred side of the display determined where infants’ looked. Data presented in Figure 1 indicate that look duration was influenced by both stimulus and side effects. Infants produced longer looks for novel stimuli. Infants also produced longer looks when looking to their preferred side of the display, F (3, 72) = 4.66, p = .005, with larger ratio scores found at 3 months than at 9 months. Infants at all ages produced more looks to their preferred side of the display; side effects were stronger at 3 months than at 7 and 9 months, F (3, 72) = 7.68, p < .001. Differences scores for gaze shifts and perseverations at the bottom of Figure 1 provide additional explanation regarding differences in look number. Gaze shifts were relatively rare, but provide evidence that infants at 5 and 7 months did shift gaze to see novel stimuli. Nonetheless, where the infants looked was more dependent on perseverative looks, in which infants returned gaze to the location of the previous look (M = 56.3% of looks away). Perseverative looks were more strongly linked to the preferred side at 3 months than at 7 or 9 months, F (3, 72) = 8.53, p < .001. In conclusion, gaze orientation depended more on side effects rather than stimulus characteristics throughout the first year. While look duration reflected the effects of stimulus and side effects, look number was dependent on side effects. Although look orientation at 3 months was noticeably different from that of the older infants, infants throughout the first year were not reliably using stimulus content to determine where to look.

Author

• Donna Fisher-Thompson, Niagara University
  Presenting Author