The influence of familiarity on explicit eye gaze judgement in preschoolers

Christine Michel, Stefanie Hoehl, Tricia Striano

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

The current study explores the influence of familiarity on explicit eye gaze judgement in preschoolers. We introduce reaction times for touches as a new measure for children studies. Children aged four–six years saw either their caregiver's face or a stranger's face looking at an object or away from it. Children were asked to touch the face that was looking at the object and reaction times to correct touches were measured. Children reacted faster to strangers' faces than to their caregivers' faces. This may indicate that preschoolers used the face of a stranger more effectively as a source of information about the environment and for this reason detected the eye gaze-object relationship faster. In addition, children's reactions were faster in a nonsocial shape-matching task than in the social eye gaze-judgement task. The applied paradigm is appropriate to further investigate the development and influencing factors of explicit eye gaze judgements in preschoolers.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)344-355
Number of pages12
JournalEuropean Journal of Developmental Psychology
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 May 2014
Externally publishedYes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 501005 Developmental psychology

Keywords

  • Familiarity
  • Preschoolers
  • Explicit eye gaze judgement
  • AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
  • 6-MONTH-OLD INFANTS
  • VISUAL-ATTENTION
  • YOUNG-CHILDREN
  • RECOGNITION
  • FACE
  • MOTHERS
  • STRANGERS
  • LOOKING
  • AGE

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