Work

Social Information Guides Infants' Selection of Foods

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Two experiments investigated the influence of socially conveyed emotions and speech on infants' preferences in the food domain. After watching films in which two unfamiliar actresses each spoke while eating a different kind of food, 12-month-old infants were allowed to choose between the two foods. In Experiment 1, infants selected a food endorsed by a speaker of their native language who displayed positive affect over a food endorsed by a foreign-language speaker who displayed negative affect. In Experiment 2, both actresses displayed positive affect yet spoke in different languages, and infants again selected the food associated with the speaker of their native language. The findings contrast with previous research in which infants and toddlers have shown little selectivity when presented with foods that differ in their intrinsic properties such as color, texture, and familiarity. Although infants may lack capacities for evaluating foods on their own, they do look to other people for guidance in food selection.

Source: Journal of Cognition and Development

DOI: 10.1080/15248370902966636

Authors: Kristin Shutts, Katherine D. Kinzler, Caitlin B. McKee, Elizabeth S. Spelke

Institution: Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Cognition in Infancy, PERCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE IN INFANCY