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Facing the perfect contingency: interactions with the self at 2 and 3 months
Vasudevi Reddy1, Vivienne Chisholm, David Forrester
1Centre for the Study of Emotion, University of Portsmouth, UK. vasu.reddy@port.ac.uk <vasu.reddy@port.ac.uk>
Infant Behavior & Development
|March 28, 2007
Summary
Infants showed different responses to live versus recorded self-images, with younger infants (9-weeks) better recognizing visual-proprioceptive contingencies than older infants (13-weeks).
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Perception
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Understanding infant self-perception is crucial for developmental psychology.
- Early self-recognition abilities are foundational for social and cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how infants perceive and interact with their own live and recorded video images.
- To examine age-related changes in self-perception and visual-proprioceptive contingency detection.
Main Methods:
- A double video Live-Replay-Live procedure was employed with 9-week-old and 13-week-old infants.
- Behavioral responses and visual attention patterns were recorded and analyzed.
Main Results:
- Infants' response durations were longer at 9 weeks compared to 13 weeks.
- Infants responded differently to live versus recorded self-images, with age and condition interacting.
- At 9 weeks, infants demonstrated visual-proprioceptive contingency detection and showed bimodal preferences for live or replay conditions.
Conclusions:
- Infants' self-perception and interaction with self-images change significantly between 9 and 13 weeks of age.
- The ability to perceive visual-proprioceptive contingencies develops within this age range.
- Familiarity and context likely influence infant preferences for live versus recorded self-representations.
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