Sex Differences in Visual Attention to the Mouth in Infancy: Implications for Language Acquisition Open Access

Abstract

Development of pre-linguistic communicative skills, like gesture, predicts acquisition of language in typically developing infants and toddlers. Prior to, and concurrent with, such communicative development, infants are attuned to social auditory and visual input, such that their visual behavior serves to index interest in, and predict later proficiency with, social- cognitive abilities. The current study proposes a role for visual attention preference for the mouths of speaking adults in the second year of life as facilitative of language development. Typically developing infants (26 male, 24 female) viewed scenes of child-directed speech, and eye-tracking data was collected longitudinally at 10 time-points from 2 to 24 months of age. Assessments of communicative and language development were also conducted throughout the first two years. Results indicate a peak in mouth fixation early in the second year of life, immediately preceding a period of known vocabulary growth. Sex differences in the chronology of this peak support a relationship between mouth fixation and language development. Sex differences in language measures indicate that females are precocious in vocabulary, gesture and language-related cognitive skill acquisition. Sex-specific developmental trajectories of the relationship between mouth fixation and language abilities suggest mouth fixation as potentially facilitative in the acquisition of language.

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................. 1

Gesture Use Predicts Language Acquisition............................................ 1

Early Comprehension of Language Predicts Production......................... 4

Role of Preferential Attention in Language Acquisition.......................... 4

Sex Differences in Communicative Development................................... 7

Methods..................................................................................................... 8

Participants................................................................................................ 8

Direct Clinical Assessment....................................................................... 9

Eye-tracking Data Acquisition................................................................. 10

Data Analytic Plan.................................................................................... 14

Results....................................................................................................... 15

Peak in Mouth Fixation............................................................................. 15

Sex Differences.......................................................................................... 16

Mouth Fixation Predictive of Language Development.............................. 17

Discussion.................................................................................................. 19

References.................................................................................................. 26

Appendix.................................................................................................... 30

Tables.......................................................................................................... 30

Figures......................................................................................................... 35

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	MA
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Developmental
Keyword	Infant Sex Differences Language Acquisition Development
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Craighead, Linda, Emory University
Committee Members	Saulnier, Celine A, Emory University Barsalou, Lawrence, Emory University Goodman, Sherryl H, Emory University Klin, Ami , Emory University

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