One-month-old infants' sensitivity to social contingency from mothers and strangers: a pilot study

Whether 1-mo.-old infants were sensitive to social contingency of their mothers and strangers via a Double Video live-replay paradigm was studied. 8 infants were tested (M age = 45.4 days, SD = 7.4) to compare behavioral changes across conditions: a first contingency (Live 1), a noncontingent (Replay), and a second contingency (Live 2). Infants showed an increase in gaze during Replay, counter to expectation. Also, these infants could detect mothers' noncontingent responses but not those of strangers. The result suggests that detection and expectancy may be subcomponents of sensitivity to social contingency. Detection appeared first and seems basic, while expectancy in social contingency appeared later.