Abstract
As infants solidify emotional attachments with their mothers during the second half of their first year, they become increasingly interested in their environment. To study this developmental process during a pediatric interview, we videotaped 45 healthy normal 9 month olds while they sat on their mothers' lap facing a pediatrician. An object (rubber duck, spoon, or eyeglasses) lay on the desk within the infants' reach. In reviewing the videotapes, we focused on the infants' interest in these novel stimuli (object or pediatrician) or familiar stimulus (mother) using looking rates (frequency/unit time) during specific phases of the session. Throughout (mean length=12.3 minutes), the infants' rates of looking at the pediatrician were significantly higher (p<.05) than rates of looking at their mother. Peak interest in the object occurred prior to object pickup (mean latency to pickup=59.9 seconds). This was the only time the looking rate at the pediatrician was significantly lower (p<.05) than the rate of looking at the object. Although the infants' interest in both the pediatrician and the object decreased over time, rates of looking at their mothers remained stable. Gender and type of object made no significant difference on any of the looking rates. Our study suggests that normal 9 month olds, with their mothers as a secure base, show distinct looking patterns with novel stimuli and that pediatricians can use this paradigm in making behavioral observations during a well baby visit.
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McCarthy, J., Wey, A., Halsey, C. et al. 82 THE NINE MONTH OLD'S EXPANDING WORLD: PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 453 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00091
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00091