Infants React Differently to Adults’ Noncontingent Responding Depending on the Adult’s Activity

Abstract:Two experiments examined 12- to 13-month-old infants’ reactions to noncontingent responding by the parent (Experiment 1, 40 infants) or by an unfamiliar adult (Experiment 2, 40 infants). During the initial play phase, the adult was either reading a book or using his or her mobile phone, resulting in a response delay when the infant would seek the adult’s attention. During the test phase, the infants were shown an ambiguous toy as the adult simultaneously conveyed positive information. The infants in the mobile-phone condition looked for a shorter time at the adult than did the infants in the book condition, regardless of the familiarity of the adult. The findings indicate that the type of activity that caused the adults’ lack of contingent responsiveness differentially influenced the infants’ reactions to the adults’ noncontingent responding.