Different types of focus: Caregiver-child interaction and changes in preschool children's attention in two cultures.

Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0372725 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1467-8624 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00093920 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Child Dev Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers
Original Publication: [Chicago, etc.] : Published by the University of Chicago Press for the Society for Research in Child Development [etc.]

Caregivers* ; Family*; Child, Preschool ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Schools ; Social Environment ; United States

Social contexts shape the development of attention; however, little is known about joint attention beyond infancy. This study employed behavioral and eye-tracking measurements to investigate cultural variations in how caregivers direct 3- to 4-year-old children's attention and subsequent changes in children's attention to objects and contextual backgrounds in the United States (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) and Japan (N = 60 mother-child dyads, 29 girls, 31 boys). The findings revealed that caregivers directed children's attention to culturally sensitive information, and significant cross-cultural differences in attention emerged after caregiver-child interaction, with Japanese children shifting their attention to the backgrounds. Results provide new insights into the role of social interaction and cultural diversity in the development of attention.
(© 2022 The Authors. Child Development © 2022 Society for Research in Child Development.)

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Date Created: 20220131 Date Completed: 20220608 Latest Revision: 20220816

20250114

10.1111/cdev.13731

35098526