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Chaotic home environment is associated with reduced infant processing speed under high task demands
Przemysław Tomalski1, Karolina Marczuk1, Ewa Pisula2
1Neurocognitive Development Lab, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Infant Behavior & Development
|June 1, 2017
Summary
A chaotic home environment negatively impacts infant processing speed for complex visual stimuli. This early adversity may affect attention control development in infants.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Child Development
Background:
- Early adversity significantly impacts child development across multiple domains.
- The effects of early adversity on infant brain development are known, but causal mechanisms are underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of a chaotic home environment on infant processing speed.
- To explore potential mechanisms linking early environment to cognitive development.
Main Methods:
- A visual habituation task was employed with 71 infants aged 5.5 months.
- Processing speed was assessed in response to simple and complex visual stimuli.
Main Results:
- Chaotic home environments showed detrimental effects on processing speed for complex visual stimuli.
- No significant effects of socio-economic status were found on infant processing speed.
Conclusions:
- Chaotic early environments may impair infant processing speed, particularly when complex cognitive resources are required.
- This research opens avenues for understanding how home environment influences attention control development.
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