Facing the perfect contingency: Interactions with the self at 2 and 3 months.

Abstract

We used a double video Live-Replay-Live procedure to explore self–self interactions in fourteen 9-week-old infants, repeated at 13-weeks with 10 of these infants. Using multiple measures of behavioural response we found that (1) in all cases where age effects held, duration of response was greater at 9- than at 13-weeks, (2) infants’ responses differed according to whether or not self-images were Live or Replay, and (3) age and condition interacted to influence infants’ responses. At 9 (but not 13) weeks, the two Live conditions correlated with each other but not with the Replay condition on some measures, indicating that infants apprehended the visual-proprioceptive contingency provided by their actions. Also at 9-weeks only, all infants showed reversals in visual attention with evidence for a bi-modal pattern: 8 preferring the Live conditions and 6 the Replay condition. An explanation based on familiarity and increasing disinterest with specific contexts is suggested.