VISUAL ANTICIPATION AND EXPECTATION IN EARLY INFANCY

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This application explores the development of anticipation and expectation for visual events in early infancy. Visual fixations are recorded to index the presence of anticipation and expectation. Our method employs infrared corneal and retinal-reflection video recording of visual fixation sequences. Through analysis of the infant's visual scanning records and derived eye-movement parameters, we draw inferences about whether a baby can anticipate the occurrence of an event before it occurs. Alternatively, by examining the baby's latency to respond to predictable but nonanticipated events (in comparison to control conditions), we can determine whether the baby has developed an expectation for those events. Fifteen experiments are proposed with human infants who range from one to nine months of age. These experiments are organized under five major rubrics. First, developmental questions are asked: At what age are babies capable of developing anticipations and/or expectations for visual events, and is there month-to-month stability in this capability? Second, we ask what information babies use to form spatiotemporal expectations; space, time and identity are considered. Third, we are concerned with how the information for expectations is coded -- in terms of rules or action? Fourth, we look at the effects of increasing rule complexity on the formation of expectations. Finally, we ask how the formation of expectations in the visual domain is related to similar processes in other domains. This research is important for our understanding of the development of future-oriented processes. The proposed research may also be important for assessing cognitive status in infancy.