Kung infancy: the social context of object exploration
R Bakeman1, L B Adamson, M Konner
1Départment of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303.
Child Development
|June 1, 1990
Summary
Infants develop object interest around 4 months and relational play by 8 months. Caregiver responses to object play vary, but object offering is often socially embedded, reflecting cultural influences on development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Anthropology
- Infant Studies
Background:
- Previous research suggests object sharing plays a role in infant development.
- Understanding early object interaction and caregiver influence is crucial for developmental insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze early infant object engagement and caregiver interactions.
- To investigate the development of object interest and relational play in Kung infants.
- To examine cultural influences on infant object involvement.
Main Methods:
- Systematic observation of Kung infants and their caregivers.
- Analysis of observational data from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- Focus on object manipulation, relational play, and object offering behaviors.
Main Results:
- Infants showed sustained interest in objects from 4 months.
- Relational play and object giving emerged around 8 months.
- Caregivers often ignored object manipulation but socially embedded object offerings.
Conclusions:
- Supports universal changes in infant object involvement.
- Infant object interaction is shaped by culturally relevant caregiver behaviors.
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