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The effects of height on infants' social responses to unfamiliar persons
Insights
Infants showed more negative social responses, like gaze aversion, when viewing unfamiliar adults from lower positions. Absolute stranger height did not impact infant reactions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Social Behavior
- Perceptual Development
Background:
- Infants' social responsiveness is crucial for development.
- Understanding how infants perceive unfamiliar individuals is key.
- Previous research has not fully explored height perception in infant social interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate infant social responsiveness to unfamiliar persons based on absolute height and relative viewing height.
- To determine if infants react differently to tall versus short strangers.
- To examine how infants' viewing height influences their social responses.
Main Methods:
- Observing 48 infants (9-12 months) interacting with strangers of varying heights.
- Manipulating infants' viewing height into low, medium, and high conditions.
- Measuring facial expressions, gaze aversion, fretting/fussing, and movement.
Main Results:
- Infants did not show differential negative responses to tall versus short strangers.
- Infants exhibited more negative social responses (gaze aversion, movement away) in lower viewing height conditions.
- Higher viewing heights correlated with less negative social responses and more concentration.
Conclusions:
- Infants' social responsiveness is significantly influenced by their viewing height relative to an unfamiliar person.
- An ethological explanation suggests an inborn predisposition to react negatively to towering stimuli.
- A multideterminant model is essential for understanding infant social responses to unfamiliar individuals.
Abstract:
The effects of absolute height of an approaching unfamiliar person and height of the person relative to the infants' viewing height on infants' social responsiveness were investigated. 48 infants, 9--12 months old, were observed as 2 tall (6 feet, 2 inches) and 2 short (5 feet, 6 inches) male strangers approached them. Infants were divided into 3 viewing height groups: low (35 inches from the floor), medium (53 inches), and high (72 inches). Facial expresion, gase aversion, fretting/fussing, and directional movement were measured as the strangers touched the infants. Infants did not respond more negatively to tall versus short strangers. However, they did respond more negatively as a function of viewing-height condition. Infants who were in the low and medium conditions showed more movement away, more gaze aversion, and less concentration than infants in the highest viewing condition. These observations are explained ethologically in terms of an inborn predisposition to respond negatively to towering stimuli in unfamiliar settings. The importance of a multideterminant model of infants' social responses to unfamiliar persons is emphasized.