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Social and emotional contexts predict the development of gaze following in early infancy

Kim Astor1, Marcus Lindskog1, Linda Forssman1

  • 1Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Royal Society Open Science
|October 13, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Infant attachment quality influences early gaze following skills, while maternal postpartum depression impacts later development. This suggests social experiences shape infant attention and interaction from an early age.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Infant cognitive development
  • Social neuroscience

Background:

  • Gaze following is a crucial early social-communication skill.
  • The foundational factors influencing gaze following development are debated.
  • Early infancy marks the onset of gaze following abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of attachment quality in early gaze following onset.
  • To examine the impact of maternal postpartum depression on later gaze following.
  • To assess the longitudinal stability of gaze following from six to ten months.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study design with 118 infants.
  • Assessment of infant gaze following at six and ten months.
  • Statistical modeling to analyze predictors of gaze following.

Main Results:

  • Attachment quality predicted gaze following onset at six months.
  • Maternal postpartum depression predicted gaze following at ten months.
  • Gaze following demonstrated longitudinal stability between six and ten months.
  • Attachment, maternal depression, and early gaze following explained 21% of variance in later gaze following.

Conclusions:

  • Gaze following development appears experience-dependent.
  • Infant motivation for social interaction drives gaze following (social-first perspective).
  • Early social relationships and maternal mental health are critical for developing gaze following.

Keywords:
attachmentgaze followinginfantlongitudinalmaternal postpartum depressionsocial context

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