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P50 Sensory Gating in Infants
Published on: December 26, 2013
Executive attention and self-regulation in infancy
Brad E Sheese1, Mary K Rothbart, Michael I Posner
1Department of Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL, United States. bsheese@iwu.edu
Infant Behavior & Development
|April 15, 2008
Summary
Infant anticipatory looking, a measure of early executive attention, relates to cautious behavior and self-regulation. This suggests rudimentary executive attention systems are present in the first year of life.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- Executive attention is crucial for self-regulation.
- Anticipatory looking, an early marker of executive attention, involves endogenous control of visual orienting.
- Previous research links anticipatory looking to executive attention in older children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate early executive attention in infancy.
- To examine the relationship between infant sequential looking and behaviors predicting later self-regulation.
- To assess anticipatory looking as a measure of individual differences in infant attention.
Main Methods:
- Studied 6- and 7-month-old infants.
- Observed anticipatory looking (looking to a target's location before appearance).
- Related anticipatory looking to behavioral approach to novel objects and distress responses.
Main Results:
- Anticipatory looking positively correlated with cautious behavioral approach to novel objects.
- Anticipatory looking related to distress frequency and looking away from disturbing stimuli.
- Findings support the presence of executive attention in the first year of life.
Conclusions:
- Rudimentary executive attention systems appear to be present in infancy.
- Anticipatory looking is a potential measure for individual differences in infant attention.
- Results may indicate early attentional regulation of emotion or links between fear and self-regulation.
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