- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Babies
are not just passing idle time when they stare goggle-eyed at the television
-- they are actually learning about the world, U.S. researchers said on
Tuesday.
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- Parents may want to limit what their infants see on television,
based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology
at Tufts University in Boston, who led the research.
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- "Children as young as 12 months are making decisions
based on the emotional reactions of adults around them," Mumme, whose
research is published in the journal Child Development, said in a statement.
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- "It turns out they can also use emotional information
they pick up from television. This means that adults might want to think
twice before they speak in a harsh or surprising tone or let an infant
see television programs meant for an older person."
-
- Mumme's team already knew that babies watch other children
and adults for cues about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some
"yummy" soup or a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches
can influence an infant's reaction.
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- But can television?
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- Mumme's team tested babies, showing actors reacting on
a videotape to objects such as a red spiral letter holder, a blue bumpy
ball, and a yellow garden hose attachment.
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- Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the
same objects to play with.
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- Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos,
Mumme's team reported. But the 1-year-olds were.
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- When the actors acted neutrally or positively to an object,
the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid
or disgusted, the infant would avoid the object.
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