Understanding attention

12- And 18-Month-Olds Know What Is New for Other Persons

Bibliographic Data

ID9787591
AuthorsM Tomasello (0000-0002-1649-088X, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, corresponding author), Katharina Haberl (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
Year2003
Volume39
Issue5
Pages906-912
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0012-1649.39.5.906
PMID12952402
OpenAlexW2092759624
LanguageEN
Citations received123
References cited31

Infants at 12 and 18 months of age played with 2 adults and 2 new toys. For a 3rd toy, however, 1 of the adults left the room while the child and the other adult played with it. This adult then returned, looked at all 3 toys aligned on a tray, showed great excitement ("Wow! Cool!"), and then asked, "Can you give it to me?' To retrieve the toy the adult wanted, infants had to (a) know that people attend to and get excited about new things and (b) identify what was new for the adult even though it was not new for them. Infants at both ages did this successfully, lending support to the hypothesis that 1-year-old infants possess a genuine understanding of other persons as intentional and attentional agents

Developmental psychology · Child and Animal Learning Development · Infant Health and Development · Language Development and Disorders · Psychology

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