Tricia Striano, Ph.D. Habil.

2008 May

www.infancyresearch.com

Infant Social Cognition

My research program focuses on the development of social cognitive skills during

human infancy. Social cognition refers to the ability to understand other people. It
includes everything from understanding the perceptual skills that allow us to
discriminate between people and objects, the complex interplay of social cues
such as eye contact, tone of voice and facial expressions used to interpret
behavior, to the capacity for symbolic communication. Understanding human
social cognition demands that we unravel early development. Researching the
development of social cognitive skills is also essential to understanding the
ontogenetic pathways that give rise to both typical and atypical social cognitive
functioning (i.e., autism).

A key transition in early social cognitive development is from participating in face-

to-face (dyadic) interactions to engaging in person-object-person (triadic)
interactions. Triadic interactions have cascading effects for human cognition and
are essential for the development of communication abilities such as language.
For instance, to learn the name for a new object, the infant must detect when a
person is communicating relevant information directed at the self (dyadic
communication) and to what this information refers to in the world (triadic
communication). My research focuses on the developmental link between dyadic
and triadic social skills.

It has commonly been assumed that infants are not capable of triadic interactions
until about twelve months of age. This would mean that social cognitive skills
such as language would begin to develop only after the first year. By
researching both dyadic and triadic skills in the first months of postnatal
development, we can better understand the developmental precursors of mature
social cognitive skills. My research shows that social cognitive skills do not
emerge suddenly at the end of the first year, rather, these skills unfold early and
rather gradually (Striano, 2004; Striano & Reid, 2006).

For instance, already by 3 months of age infants distinguish between another

person interacting in a ‘joint attention’ context when an adult talks, smiles and
shifts visual attention between the infant and an object, and ‘non-joint attention’
context in which the adult coordinates visual attention and smiling but looks away
before turning to the object (Striano & Stahl, 2005). Infants go beyond a mere
sensitivity to triadic attention cues. Even at 5 months of age, triadic social cues
assist infants in guiding their attention to relevant aspects of the environment and
facilitate learning. In sum, young infants are sensitive to and use both dyadic
and triadic social cues across contexts and social situations (Vaish & Striano,
2004; Striano, Vaish, & Benigno, 2006; (Cleveland & Striano, 2007; Reid &
Striano, 2005; Striano, Chen, Cleveland, & Bradshaw, 2006). These abilities are
foundational to later developing social cognitive abilities.
Complementing these findings, infant brain differentially processes new
information that is cued by relevant dyadic and triadic social cues (Reid, Striano,
Kaufman, & Johnson, 2004; Striano, Grossman, Kopp, & Reid, 2006 & Striano,
Reid, & Hoehl, 2006). Most recently our research show that the 3 to 4 month old
infant brain selectively processes objects as a function of others’ visual and
emotional cues (Hoehl & Striano, in press; Hoehl, Palumbo, Heinisch, & Striano,
2008; Hoehl, Reid, Mooney, & Striano, 2008; Striano, Reid, & Hoehl, 2006).

My program of research has been instrumental in modifying developmental

theories suggesting the start of social cognition at the end of the first year. The
research program has been important in providing clues about early
developmental mechanisms, and in showing the early capacity for dyadic and
triadic skills that underlie mature forms of social cognition. In addition, the
research suggests promising tools to identify infants at risk for social cognitive
impairments such as autism. With this in mind, we are now applying many of
the paradigms that we have developed in infancy research to children with
autism. This will allow us to develop early diagnostic tools for autism that may be
applied to infants in the first year. This is a first step in identifying the
developmental mechanisms that give way to full blown social cognition.

Current and Future Program of Research

Universal Mechanisms of Social Cognitive Development

Establishing behavioral norms of social cognition

Although we have made great strides in identifying social cognitive milestones,

the typical developmental time frame and sequence of these skills is still
unknown. Some social cognitive skills show less variation across individuals and
across time than other skills and may be more or less essential for the typical
development of social cognition (Striano, & Cleveland, 2007; Striano & Bertin,
2005). For this reason, we are currently establishing developmental norms for a
range of social-cognitive skills in the first year.

Assessing the nature of social interaction among infants across cultures is also
an effective way to understand possible universal mechanisms of developmental
change, social sensitivities, and learning. For instance, are facial and vocal cues
important for infants across culture, or are more general (i.e., amodal) cues such
as timing of social cues essential? How do variations in social experience impact
the development of learning and cognition? We are currently comparing infants
across different cultures (Italy, Greece, Germany, USA) to understand potential
universal mechanisms of social cognitive development.

Establishing neural correlates of social cognition

Assessing early brain activity with event related potentials (ERP) is a way to
determine what types of social information infants process. In recent years we
have discovered that infants process information at the brain level is not always
seen in their behavior. Thus, neural correlates of social cognition give us clues
about the underlying mechanisms of behavioral developments. We are currently
assessing the way that young infants process language and objects as a function
of different types of social cues. Not only is this research showing that young
infants have capacities much earlier than suggested by behavioral paradigms,
but it offers a new tool to diagnose autism and developmental impairment very
early in development. These results also help us to understand universal
mechanisms of social cognitive development.

Educating the public about social cognitive development

Using various survey methods, we are determining what parents across cultures
and socio-economic status understand about infant social cognitive development.
This knowledge will help us to design better educational tools. We are assessing
what various sources of educational tools have in common and how they differ.
How do various internet sites educate parents, how do these highlight
developmental norms or early signs of developmental impairments such as
autism? By analyzing and understanding current information sources and how
these are used across diverse groups, we are able to make our findings about
early infant development more accessible to parents and to the public.