title: Attention engagement in early infancy.
abstract: We report a longitudinal study investigating developmental changes in the structure of attention engagement during early infancy. Forty-three infants were observed monthly from 2 to 4 months. Attention engagement was assessed from play interactions with parents, using a coding system developed by Bakeman and Adamson (1984). The results indicated a developmental transition in attention engagement at 3 months: after this age infants engaged for longer periods and in a wider variety of states. Most infants displayed person engagement at 2 months, passive joint engagement at 3 months, and object engagement at 4 months. To address whether emerging abilities of attention engagement allow infants to follow the attention of social partners, we compared attention engagement to performance on an experimental measure of attention control (reported by Perra & Gattis, 2010). Analyses revealed a positive relation between passive joint engagement and checking back, suggesting that changes in passive joint engagement reflect the development in attention control.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Care Research, School of Sociology, Social Policy & Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, UK. o.perra@qub.ac.uk
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Perra
authors.forename: Merideth
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gattis
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012919:Social Behavior