Partner Familiarity Moderates Infant Attention Set-Shifting

• In Event: From Infancy to Preadolescence--Relations Between Parent- or Parenting-Related Factors and Children’s Executive Functions

Abstract

Set-shifting is an Executive Function (EF) skill that describes the ability to shift one’s attention flexibly between different tasks or dimensions of a stimulus set. Together with executive switching, set-shifting provides the basis for cognitive flexibility - the ability to switch flexibly between tasks and to adapt one’s behaviour in response to a dynamically changing environment. EF development occurs within the context of positive social relationships and variations in the quality of parent-child interaction (“caregiver scaffolding” and sensitivity/responsiveness) are known to impact EF development. However, many early life interactions and opportunities for vicarious learning involve adult social partners who are not the primary caregiver – such as extended family or friends. The role of these “low familiarity” interactions in early EF development is less well understood. Here, we examine infant set-shifting in the context of social interactions with a high familiarity (mother) or low familiarity (stranger) partner. We hypothesised a-priori that familiar interactions would be more effective in supporting infant set-shifting behaviour.
A total of N=53 dyads (15.6m) took part in the study, comprising N=22 mother-infant dyads and N=31 stranger-infant dyads (female experimenter). To assess partner effects on infant shifting, we used a modified version of the sequential touching object categorisation task in which the adult (mother or stranger) performs a live demonstration of object compressibility to the child, thereby scaffolding an attentional shift from the high salient object dimension (shape) to the low salient object dimension (compressibility). Changes in the child’s sequence of object touches pre- versus post- demonstration are taken as a measure of attention set-shifting. In addition to standard measures of mean run length, we also devised a novel measure of shifting based on conditional probability mapping of object touches.
We observed clear differences in infant set-shifting as a function of social partner familiarity. Contrary to prediction, interactions with the stranger resulted in significantly faster (t(44)=4.27, p<.0001) and more successful set-shifting by infants to the low-salient object dimension (Χ2 = 19.9, p<.0001), as compared to maternal interactions. Further, although there was no difference in infants’ overall visual attention to stranger versus maternal partners (t(42)=0.04, p=.97), infants made a significantly higher number of gaze shifts during maternal interactions (t(41)=2.15, p<.05). Finally, infants expressed a higher proportion of positive and negative emotion during maternal as compared to stranger interactions (positive: t(36)=2.97, p<.01; negative: t(36)=3.59, p<.01). Accordingly, we conclude that partner familiarity significantly moderates adult scaffolding of infant attention set-shifting, with an apparent advantage for novel (unfamiliar) social partners.
A potential caveat is that these data were collected in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the social experiences of the infants were constrained by on-going social distancing measures. This may partially account for the strong novelty effect that we observed. Accordingly these results may not be broadly representative of normative early life experiences. Nonetheless, these data clearly demonstrate that partner familiarity (in the context of prior social experiences) can be an important factor that moderates the effect of social interactions on developing executive function.

Author

• Victoria Leong, Nanyang Technological University
  Presenting Author