Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior
07:09

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

Published on: November 14, 2018

Individual differences in what 2-year-old children look at: observations in a daycare

Junko Sagara1, Kazu Murata, Chisato Yamano

  • 1Department of Child Research, Seitoku University, Chiba, Japan. qzg13210@nifty.com

Infant Behavior & Development
|September 18, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children exhibit distinct looking behaviors, focusing on people or both objects and people. These individual differences in gaze patterns may impact early social interactions and development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Behavior Studies

Background:

  • Early childhood gaze patterns are crucial for social development.
  • Understanding looking behavior in toddlers can offer insights into social interaction styles.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the types of looking behavior in young children.
  • To explore individual differences in gaze direction during social play.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of gaze directions in six children aged 24, 30, and 36 months.
  • Free-time play in a group nursing setting.

Main Results:

  • Two distinct looking behaviors were identified: non-focused gazing primarily at people, and focused gazing at both objects and people.
  • Individual variations in looking tendencies were noted among the children.

Conclusions:

  • Observed differences in children's looking behavior suggest varying social interaction predispositions.
  • Gaze patterns in early childhood may be linked to subsequent social engagement and interaction styles.

More Related Videos

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras03:56

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras

Published on: October 5, 2018

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Related Concept Videos

Naturalistic Observations02:30

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development

The preoperational stage, the second of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, spans approximately ages 2 to 7 and is characterized by the emergence of symbolic thinking. During this stage, children use language, images, and symbols to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in imaginative and pretend play. This symbolic thinking supports children's ability to perform make-believe actions, such as imagining a broom as a horse or their hand as a phone, blending...
Data Collection by Observations01:08

Data Collection by Observations

Data collection refers to a systematic way of obtaining, observing, measuring, and analyzing accurate information. Observational studies are one of the most widely used methods of data collection. It involves collecting data by observing the behavior and physical characteristics of a sample without making any modifications to the sample.
An astronomer viewing the motion and brightness of stars in the sky and recording the data is an example of observational data collection. A botanist recording...
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...