Learning blossoms: Caregiver-infant interactions in an outdoor garden setting |
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| Institution: | 1. Max Planck Research Group Naturalistic Social Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany;2. Laboratory of Developmental Neuroscience, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro de Portillo 5, 00128, Rome, Italy;1. Department of Primary Education, University of Potsdam, Germany;2. Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany;3. Department of Inclusive Education, University of Potsdam, Germany;4. Department of Education and Psychology, Free University of Berlin, Germany;1. Child and Adolescent Health Program of Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;2. Faculty of Medicine of Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;3. Department of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil;4. Pediatrics Department of Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;1. Department of Psychology, University of Münster, Fliednerstraße 21, 48149 Münster, Germany;2. Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;1. Rochester Institute of Technology, United States;2. University of Massachusetts Boston, United States |
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| Abstract: | Plants provide unique opportunities for learning by engaging all human senses. Recent laboratory studies have shown that infants use a combination of behavioural avoidance and social learning strategies to safely learn about plant properties from adults. Here we investigate how infants and their caregivers interact with plants in an outdoor garden as a first step towards examining the operation of these social learning processes in naturalistic settings. We focus on two specific aspects of spontaneous infant-caregiver interactions with plants: olfactory and touch behaviours. Additionally, we look at whether infants' and caregivers’ prior knowledge of the plants in our study influences infants’ behaviour. Our results showed a multifaceted connection between infants’ and caregivers' previous experience with the plants and their olfactory and touch behaviours. First, infants tended to touch and smell the plants after their caregivers did, and this appeared to be independent of whether infants had seen the plant before. Second, infants systematically engaged in some of the same types of olfactory and touch behaviours their caregiver displayed towards plants. Finally, infants whose caregivers were given more information about the plants in the study showed fewer touch behaviours, but no difference in olfactory behaviours. These findings bolster the previous laboratory studies of plant learning early in life, highlighting the importance of olfactory behaviours, and underscoring the benefits of using ecological observations to explore unique aspects of human development. |
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| Keywords: | Social learning Spontaneous caregiver-infant interactions Plants Olfaction Naturalistic setting |
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