Early social referencing predicts object mastery motivation in infancy: Social antecedents of object mastery motivation

Abstract

The researchers sought to understand the typical development of social referencing and object mastery motivation in infancy and to determine the relationship between social referencing and object mastery behaviors in infants from 7 to 22 months of age. The study included 36 infants who were followed as part of a longitudinal study of at-risk infants but were not determined to need care in the neonatal intesive care unit at birth. Both mastery behaviors of persistence and success showed a statistically significant effect of age, while social behaviors remained stable from 7 to 22 months. Social behaviors at 7 and 10 months were correlated with persistence at 22 months and success at 16 to 22 months demonstrating that early social referencing predicts object mastery behaviors in later infancy. Further research should determine if this trend extends to early childhood.