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Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Psychology
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2008
Month Degree Awarded
February
Keywords
infant, attention, baby videos, joint visual attention
Abstract
The research described here examines infant and parent attention to a familiar baby video. Also of interest, was if infant viewing behaviors influenced parent viewing behaviors, and vice versa. Subjects were 12-15 and 18-21 month-old infants who were observed watching a familiar baby video with one parent. Overall infants and adults spent less than one-third of the time watching the television. This measure varied greatly across dyads. However, there was a strong, positive relationship within dyads, suggesting that infants and parents may be influencing each other’s viewing behavior. Further analyses revealed that there was a social component that influenced when infants and parents initiated and terminated looks to the television that extended above and beyond the common influence of the formal features of the program. Though this influence was mutual for both the infant and parent, overall, infants tended to ‘lead’ their parents’ looks more frequently than parents’ led their infants’.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/409283
First Advisor
Daniel R. Anderson