Infants’ Visual Preferences for Prosocial Behavior and Other-Race Characters at 6 Months: An Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

There is growing evidence that infants display preferences for prosocial agents. However, recent studies have reported conflicting results about the impact of appearance on these preferences. The current study investigated the relative influence of behavior and face/race on 6-month-old infants’ evaluation of social agents when these two aspects are in competition. In a short research study featuring animated cartoons where agents interacted in a ball game, we used eye-tracking methodology to assess infants’ preferences (a) for prosocial behavior, (b) for one kind of appearance, represented by race, and (c) when the two aspects were pitted against one another. The two control conditions revealed preferences for prosocial agents and for other-race appearance. No preference could be found at group level in the third condition, where these two aspects competed with each other. However, a profile analysis revealed that when this situation was a source of conflict in terms of the preferences identified in the control conditions, infants prioritized appearance over behavior.