Infants’ observation of tool-use events over the first year of life

How infants observe a goal-directed instrumental action provides a unique window into their understanding of others’ behavior. In this study we investigated eye-gaze patterns while infants observed events in which an actor used a tool on an object. Comparisons between 4-, 7-, 10-, and 12-month old infants and adults reveal changes in infants’ looking patterns with age: Following an initial face bias, infants’ scan path eventually shows a dynamic integration of both the actor’s face and the objects upon which they act. This shift may mark a transition in infants’ understanding of the critical components of tool-use events and their understanding of others’ behavior.