A Longitudinal Investigation of Preferential Attention to Biological Motion in 2- to 24-Month-Old Infants

Abstract

Preferential attention to biological motion is an early-emerging mechanism of adaptive action that plays a critical role in social development. The present study provides a comprehensive longitudinal mapping of developmental change in preferential attention to biological motion in 116 infants at 7 longitudinal time points. Tested repeatedly from 2 until 24 months of age, results reveal that preferential attention to biological motion changes considerably during the first months of life. Previously reported preferences in both neonates and older infants are absent in the second month but do reemerge by month 3 and become increasingly pronounced during the subsequent two years. These results highlight the second month of life as a potentially critical transition period in social visual engagement..

Figure 3 from Sifre et al. (2018).Model-based mean estimates of preferential attention to upright biological motion between 2 and 24 months of age. Dashed lines represent 95% confidence intervals. The horizontal line denotes equal looking towards upright and inverted biological motion stimuli (50%). Percentage of fixation time to upright biological motion stimuli increases with age (F = 5.85, p < 0.001). While 2-month-old infants do not look preferentially at the upright figure (M = 46.5%, 95% CI [39.8–53.2%], p = 0.299), a preference is observed by month 3 and increases through month 24.