1997 Volume 48 Issue 10 Pages 865-874
Two infants were chosen to study what they turn their gaze on during their infancy of 3 to 12 months after birth. Their line of vision was investigated to analyze the triadic relationship of Infant-Object-Person. The infants were respectively observed at home together with mother at the monthly intervals of 10 months. The main findings were as follows :
Keeping pace with growth, the infants looked at objects more frequently; visual attention to objects showed particularly high percentage 4 to 5 months after birth. They looked at their mothers' face more frequently at a physically high synchronic period of 3 months old, but the frequency began to decrease 4 months after birth and reached nearly zero by around the time when they were 9 months old. Their visual attention to mother's hands, which handled objects, was observed remarkably more often 6 to 7 months after birth, but began to take place less often around 9 months after birth.
The findings show the process of the development of pre-verbal infants; Infant-Person coordination gain an advantage until 3 months old, but Infant-Object coordination gain an advantage from 4 to 8 months old, with Infant-Object-Person coordination becoming dominant after 9 months old. It was also clarified that, during the process of forming Infant-Object-Person coordination, the infants paid attention to mother's hands, recognizing the hands with the mother, i.e., the Object-Person coordination had already been made before the infants paid attention to their mothers' face.
