Stability in Infant Rule-Learning?
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Updated: Nov 6, 2026

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Published on: June 1, 2015
Lisa Wagner1, Stephanie Wermelinger1, Virginia Hoffman1
1Department of Psychology and Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, Developmental Psychology: Infancy and Childhood, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We tested the stability of infants' rule learning in an independent 6-month follow-up of infants originally assessed as part of ManyBabies3. Valid data were available from infants at each measurement occasion (T1: 5-12 months; T2: 11-18 months) and from infants for the longitudinal analyses. Infants completed a gaze-contingent eye-tracking adaptation of the ABA/ABB syllable-triplet task. Rule learning was measured as a novelty preference (greater looking times in rule-inconsistent than rule-consistent trials). Bayesian analyses provided no evidence of rule learning at either measurement occasion and no clear evidence for longitudinal stability.
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