Eyetracking measures of social attention in young children: How gaze patterns translate to real‐life social behaviors

The aim of this study was to evaluate to what degree eyetracking paradigms of social attention, in combination with synchronous measurements of affective arousal, were associated with real‐life social behavior of children aged 3–7 years. Several eyetracking paradigms were used, involving social inte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social development (Oxford, England) England), 2019-08, Vol.28 (3), p.564-580
Main Authors: van Rijn, Sophie, Urbanus, Evelien, Swaab, Hanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arousal
Attention
Behavior
Child development
Children
Electrocardiography
emotion
Emotion recognition
Emotional development
Eye fixation
Eye tracking
Facial expressions
Intelligence tests
middle childhood
Paradigms
Questionnaires
Social behavior
social cognition
Social development
Social interaction
Social perception
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Summary:The aim of this study was to evaluate to what degree eyetracking paradigms of social attention, in combination with synchronous measurements of affective arousal, were associated with real‐life social behavior of children aged 3–7 years. Several eyetracking paradigms were used, involving social interactions, single/multiple faces, and emotional faces. Arousal was measured using electrocardiography. Real‐life social behavior was measured using structured behavior observations, parent questionnaires, and developmental interviews. Time spent looking at social stimuli was significantly associated with real‐life social behaviors, and independent of age, IQ, or gender. Paradigms involving social interactions and looking time to the eyes showed the most consistent relations with social behaviors. Stronger affective arousal responses were associated with shorter looking times toward eyes, which in turn were associated with less social awareness in real life. Eyetracking and arousal measures allow for sensitive and objective assessment of social abilities that have great relevance for real‐life social behaviors, with the potential to use in a broad and diverse population. These measures may help gain insight into the underpinnings of social behavior and may serve as a valuable marker or outcome measure in understanding, monitoring, and stimulating social‐emotional development early in life.
ISSN:0961-205X
1467-9507
DOI:10.1111/sode.12350