Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Parental guidance fosters hands-on learning by infants in culturally different ways
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Abstract:
The present research examined cultural patterns of parental guidance for infants as they learned about a new physical rule with hands-on experience. Nine-month-olds participated in two sites: Taipei, Taiwan and Santa Cruz, California, United States (N = 96; 48 males, 48 females). They watched a single exemplar of covering events that demonstrated the to-be-learned rule, which was insufficient visual experience to learn the rule. As infants explored the objects while observing, their mothers provided culturally distinct guidance. The dyads in Taipei co-enacted directive guidance through parents' hand-holding infants, whereas the dyads in Santa Cruz focused on infants' free exploration. Despite different emphases of learning, both groups of infants benefited from hands-on experience and learned the rule with the single exemplar. The finding points to diverse pathways to support the early development of physical concepts for infants from different cultural backgrounds. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
More Related Videos
03:56A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras
Published on: October 5, 2018
05:35Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
Related Concept Videos
The Nativist Approach
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development in Cultural Context
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
Cognitive Learning
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Naturalistic Observations
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development