Toys and social interaction between infant peers

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Infant social behavior

Background:

• Previous assumptions suggested infants lack social responsiveness.
• Toys were thought to divert infant attention from social interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate infant social interaction with peers.
• To determine the influence of toys on infant social engagement.

Main Methods:

• Compared interactions of 44 infant pairs (10-12 and 22-24 months) with and without toys.
• Observed social behaviors like contact, smiling, gesturing, and toy play.

Main Results:

• Infants showed more social interaction (contact, smiling, gesturing) when no toys were present.
• With toys, infants engaged in showing, exchanging, and synchronous play.
• Both age groups demonstrated responsiveness to peers, irrespective of toys.

Conclusions:

• Infants as young as 10 months are socially responsive to unfamiliar peers.
• Social interaction is not preempted by toys; toy play can also be synchronous.
• Infants actively engage with both social and non-social aspects of their environment.