Examining individual differences in infants’ habituation patterns using objective quantitative techniques

The assessment of individual differences in infant habituation patterns is important for answering basic questions about continuity in cognitive development. Nevertheless, there are flaws with existing methods for determining relevant parameters of the cognitive processes associated with habituation. In this paper, a more rigorous, model-based alternative approach is illustrated. The approach demonstrates how the habituation data of individual infants may be fit by specific functions, how habituation may be distinguished from random responding, and how the parameter estimates of individual infants’ habituation functions might be analyzed for meaningful subgroups or clusters. The model-based approach provides novel insights about individual subgroups when applied to a real habituation data set and thereby demonstrates the feasibility and utility of the techniques advocated.