Attention engagement in early infancy

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.

► We investigated developmental changes in infants’ attention engagement from 2 to 4 months. Attention engagement was assessed longitudinally from play interactions with parents.
► At 3 months infants engaged attention for longer periods and in a wider variety of states.
► Most infants engaged in person engagement at 2 months, but displayed passive joint engagement at 3 months. Individual differences between these two states were observed.
► Passive joint engagement was related to other early-emerging attention skills.