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Published on: July 9, 2016
Average fixation duration in infancy: Stability and predictive utility
Hannah White1, Alison Heck2, Rachel Jubran3
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Abstract:
The current study examined the stability, consistency, and predictive utility of average fixation durations in infancy. In Study 1, infants' (N = 80) average fixation duration when viewing social stimuli was found to show strong relative stability from 3.5 to 9 months of age. In Study 2, strong within-infant consistency was found in 3.5-month-old infants' (N = 73) average fixation durations to social and nonsocial stimuli. In Study 3, 3.5- to 9-month-old infants' (N = 89) average fixation duration was found to systematically vary with parent-reported symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 4-6 years of age. These results suggest that average fixation duration serves as a stable and systematic measure of individual differences in cognitive development beginning early in life.
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