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Video Deficit in Toddlers’ Object Retrieval: What Eye Movements Reveal About Online Cognition
Author(s) -
Kirkorian Heather L.,
Lavigne Heather J.,
Hanson Katherine G.,
Troseth Georgene L.,
Demers Lindsay B.,
Anderson Daniel R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
infancy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.361
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1532-7078
pISSN - 1525-0008
DOI - 10.1111/infa.12102
Subject(s) - psychology , eye movement , visual search , task (project management) , cognitive psychology , object (grammar) , cognition , encoding (memory) , event (particle physics) , computer science , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , economics , physics , management , quantum mechanics
The purpose of this study was to determine whether toddlers exhibit different eye‐movement patterns when watching real events versus video demonstrations in an object‐retrieval task. Twenty‐four‐month‐olds ( N = 36) searched for a sticker on a felt board after watching an experimenter hide it behind a felt object in person or via video. Eye movements during the hiding event were recorded. Compared to those watching in‐person events, children watching video spent more time looking at the target location overall, yet they had relatively poor search performance. Visual attention to the target location predicted search performance in the video condition only; children who watched in‐person hiding events had high success rates even if they paid relatively little visual attention to the correct location. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that toddlers process information more quickly for in‐person (versus video) events, enabling them to learn as well (or better) despite relatively low selective attention. Thus, relatively poor encoding, as well as memory retrieval, may underlie the video deficit.