When is an assessment an intervention? Parent perception of infant intentionality and language

To determine whether the process of having parents rate their infant's intentionality and language using parent-report questionnaires influences parents' tendency to view infants as intentional or linguistic.

The Infant Intentionality Questionnaire (IIQ) and the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) were administered to three groups of mothers. Forty mothers completed the interviews longitudinally when their infants were 8, 10 and 12 months old. A group of 20 mothers completed the interviews longitudinally when their infants were 10 and 12 months old. A third group of 20 mothers completed the interviews at 12 months only.

IIQ scores increased across age but also were higher if parents had more experience with the questionnaire. CDI scores increased with age, but there was no effect of repeated testing.

Previous experience with the IIQ seems to have enhanced the tendency to perceive intentionality. In contrast, repeated testing with the CDI did not alter parent perception of child language. These results suggest that some parent-report instruments (e.g., the IIQ) can alter the test-taker's awareness and thus could serve as an intervention. Parent-report instruments that tap something that is salient, familiar, and easily observable (e.g., the child's language) are less likely to alter the parent's perception.