This study aimed to investigate how mothers and infants contribute mutually to breastfeeding. The spontaneous interactions of 20 breastfeeding dyads were video-recorded at home, at 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months of infants' life. Mothers' and infants' gaze and tactile behaviour, facial expressions of emotion, and dyadic expressions were continuously…

Infants avoid touching plants. Here we examine for the first time whether infants are also reluctant to touch plant foods. We hypothesized that infants would avoid plant foods because food neophobia--the avoidance of novel foods--is particularly strong for fruits and vegetables. However, we predicted that infants would avoid processed plant foods…

We compared maternal speech in interactions of mothers with their firstborn dizygotic twin and singleton infants. Nine twins and nine singletons were video-recorded at home in spontaneous face-to-face interactions with their mothers, from the 2nd to the 6th month. Continuous micro-analysis revealed that there are more quantitative and qualitative…

This study explores how 7-month-old infants categorize graphical images varying in basic perceptual features by using a fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) task. Most participants were Caucasian and their parents had a higher education, but the family's socioeconomic background was mixed. Experiment 1 (N = 23) tested brain responses to…

The development of copying behaviours of a group of infants from 9 to 15 months of age is analysed. These behaviours are classified according to their type (mimetic or imitated) and function (instrumental, social or hybrid). The function of the behaviours is derived from observable indicators linked to dyadic interaction. Mimetic behaviours are…

A live video was used to study the development of visual self-recognition in a cross-sectional sample of 152 typically developing French children aged between 15 months to 6 years. Three reactions to a mark placed on the child's cheek without their knowledge were studied: the touch of the mark with their hand, the ocular responsiveness to the mark…

Previous studies found an impact of language familiarity on face recognition in 9- and 12-month-olds. Own race faces are better recognized when associated with native language, whereas for other race faces, it is with non-native language. The aim of this study is to investigate if language familiarity can also influence abstract pattern…

From early in life, infants synchronize with others on a physiological level, a process thought to underlie social connections and group cohesion. This synchronization is seen, for example, when their pupils dilate in response to observing another person with dilated pupils -- known as "pupillary contagion." There is mixed evidence on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate sub-lexical segmentation in Spanish-speaking children based on the perception of regular syllables (pseudomorphemes), as well as their association with a visual referent. Both of these skills are the precursors to learning morphology for language acquisition. Twenty-three 12-month-old children…

From their origins, Italian early childhood services paid attention to the transition from family to childcare centre, explicitly referring to attachment theory. In the present study, the "Parent Attachment Diary" was adapted and applied within a childcare centre context to examine the development of infants' relationship with their…

This study identified the correlations between the temperament types of infants and their cries evoked by external pain stimuli. We examined infant cries evoked by vaccinations and analyse the volume and types of audio frequency fluctuation of the cries. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire is filled out by the parents. Statistical analyses of…

Purpose: Though the frequency of gesture use by infants has been related to the development of different language abilities in the initial stages of language acquisition, less is known about whether this frequency (or "gesture rate") continues to correlate with language measures in later stages of language acquisition, or whether the…

This study used an ethological approach to explore the behavioural adaptation of nineteen infants during their first six weeks in Residential Care (RC), or a Foster Family (FF) or an Infant-Mother Centre (IMC). Direct observations were conducted once a week at bath time. Observed behaviours were: sleep-wake states, visual exploration, motor…

The behavior of newborns is ambiguous. Cultural models--representations shared by members of a community--provide new parents and others with a cognitive and motivational structure to understand them. This study asks members of several cultural groups (total n = 100) to judge the "similarity" of behavioral items in the Neonatal…

This study captures the possibilities of infants' interactions in a Brazilian Early Childhood Education Centre. It contributes to an increasing number of educational research that is capturing the specificities of how young children use their understandings of context through gestures and verbal forms of language to create meanings as they develop…