The development of object-based attention in infants

We presented 6- to 8-month-old infants with the visual stimuli consisting of two white vertical rectangles side by side, in which a target appearing at 1) the cued location, 2) the end opposite to the cued location, and 3) another rectangle’s end following the cue, using an established paradigm, and measured each infant’s first saccade to the target. We found that (1) infants of all ages could make the first saccade to the target appearing at the cued location, (2) only 8-month-old infants made the first saccade to the target appearing at the opposite end to the cued location more accurately than to the target appearing at the other rectangle’s end. These results indicate that object-based attention might be acquired around 8 months compared with the spatial cueing effect that appears at around 6 months. Our findings suggest that the objects play a role in visual attention in 8-month-old infants.
Source: Infant Behavior and Development - Category: Child Development Source Type: research
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