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Updated: Oct 3, 2025
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A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras
Published on: October 5, 2018
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Visual perspective-taking ability in 7- and 12-month-old infants
Ayaka Ikeda1,2, Yasuhiro Kanakogi3, Masahiro Hirai1,4,5
1Center for Development of Advanced Medical Technology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
Plos One
|February 16, 2022
Summary
Twelve-month-old infants can understand others' visual perspectives, but 7-month-olds cannot. This study explored early visual perspective-taking abilities in infants.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Visual perspective-taking is key to social cognition, enabling understanding of others' viewpoints.
- Previous research confirmed this ability in 14-month-old infants, but younger infants remained unstudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visual perspective-taking abilities in infants younger than 12 months.
- To determine the earliest age at which infants can compute others' visual perspectives.
Main Methods:
- A modified gaze-following paradigm was used with 48 infants aged 7 and 12 months.
- Two conditions were tested: a blocked line of sight and a clear line of sight.
- Infants' gaze shifts towards gaze-cued objects were measured.
Main Results:
- Twelve-month-old infants successfully followed gaze when the model's view was unobstructed.
- Seven-month-old infants did not demonstrate this gaze-following ability.
- Performance differed significantly between the two age groups.
Conclusions:
- Twelve-month-old infants appear to possess the capacity for visual perspective-taking.
- This suggests a developmental progression in social cognitive abilities within the first year of life.
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