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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior

Published on: November 14, 2018

Attention engagement in early infancy.

Oliver Perra¹, Merideth Gattis

¹Institute of Child Care Research, School of Sociology, Social Policy & Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, UK. o.perra@qub.ac.uk

Infant Behavior & Development

|September 18, 2012

Summary

Infant attention engagement shows developmental shifts between 2-4 months, transitioning from person to joint and object engagement. This development in attention control is linked to early social interactions.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Infant Cognition
Social Interaction

Background:

Understanding early infant attention is crucial for cognitive development.
Previous research has explored infant engagement but longitudinal changes in its structure are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate developmental changes in the structure of attention engagement in infants from 2 to 4 months.
To examine the relationship between attention engagement and attention control abilities.

Main Methods:

A longitudinal study observing 43 infants monthly from 2 to 4 months.
Attention engagement assessed via parent-infant play using the Bakeman and Adamson (1984) coding system.
Comparison with an experimental measure of attention control (Perra & Gattis, 2010).

Main Results:

A developmental transition in attention engagement occurred at 3 months.
Infants showed longer engagement periods and a wider variety of states after 3 months.
Engagement progressed from person (2 months) to passive joint (3 months) to object (4 months).
Passive joint engagement positively correlated with checking back, indicating a link to attention control development.

Conclusions:

Infant attention engagement undergoes significant structural changes between 2 and 4 months.
These changes reflect developing attention control abilities.
Early social engagement patterns are foundational for later attentional development.