Development of Sequence Learning in Infants

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton FL

Investigators

Abstract

How do human infants perceive events that occur in time? The current project examines this question by studying sequence learning, a critical skill that underlies event perception. The theoretical assumption guiding this project is that as development progresses, infants become capable of learning increasingly more complex sequential relations. The goal of the project is to determine at what age infants become capable of learning particular forms of sequential complexity. To answer this question, the investigator plans to use a habituation/test procedure together with measures of visual attention. Infants are first habituated to sequences consisting either of moving/sounding objects, moving/silent objects, or only sounds arranged in a particular order. Then, they are given test trials during which the order of sequence components is changed and their ability to detect that change is measured. The investigator hopes to determine when specific sequence learning abilities emerge and improve during infancy through these experiments that vary (1) sequence complexity, (2) the particular ordinal relations of sequence components, and (3) the specific nature of sequence components (i.e., whether they are audiovisual, visual, or auditory). The predictions are, as infants grow, that they become capable of learning more complex sequential relations, that they come to depend less on their redundant specification in multiple sensory modalities, and that they are able to generalize their learning across sensory modalities. Sequence learning is a fundamental skill that is involved in many higher-level skills such as speech, language, reading, event representation, social interaction, and the acquisition of complex motor skills. As a result, this project will provide critical new insights into the underlying developmental foundation for the emergence of the many higher-level behavioral skills that children must master in order to function adaptively. In addition, by carefully characterizing and charting the developmental emergence of sequence learning skills in infancy, the current project offers the possibility of discovering whether the failure to develop age-appropriate behavioral skills, as is the case in many types of developmental learning and communication disorders, may be related to a failure to develop basic sequence learning skills.