Developmental Science最新文献

{"title":"Automated Quantification of Head Motion Synchrony in Peer Interactions of Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth","authors":"Kathryn A. McNaughton,&nbsp;Heather A. Yarger,&nbsp;Elizabeth Redcay","doi":"10.1111/desc.70285","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70285","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Peer interactions take on increasing importance for youth in middle childhood and adolescence. Autistic youth face particular challenges interacting with non-autistic peers; thus, it is critical to understand factors that predict interaction enjoyment for autistic and non-autistic youth. One candidate predictor is interpersonal motion synchrony. Experimentally induced motion synchrony leads to interpersonal liking and closeness, but these outcomes from experimental synchrony may not generalize to synchrony that naturally occurs in interpersonal interactions. Computer vision approaches allow for non-invasive quantification of synchrony in developmental populations, and thus provide an opportunity to investigate the role of naturalistic motion synchrony in peer interactions between autistic and non-autistic youth. Autistic and non-autistic youth were paired into three dyad types (autistic with autistic, autistic with non-autistic, and non-autistic with non-autistic) and completed a brief video-recorded “getting-to-know-you” interaction. Head position was extracted frame-by-frame from video recordings using OpenPose. Cross-wavelet coherence was computed to quantify head motion synchrony. We found significant head motion synchrony in interacting (compared to time-scrambled) dyads, but levels of synchrony did not differ by dyad type. Across dyad types, we found evidence that head motion synchrony negatively predicts youth-reported enjoyment and positively predicts youth-reported discomfort in the interaction. Unlike prior findings of relations between synchrony and positive outcomes, here, synchrony predicted negative conversational outcomes. Thus, these findings add nuance to our understanding of the role of synchrony in naturalistic interactions. They also demonstrate the application of non-invasively quantifying synchrony in minimally structured peer interactions including autistic youth using computer vision.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13572966/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148963148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic Scarcity Impedes Impoverished Children's Executive Function: The Role of Multiple Resources Examined Through Eye Tracking","authors":"Ying Jiang,&nbsp;Feng Zhang,&nbsp;Hua Ming,&nbsp;Hongying Li,&nbsp;Silin Huang","doi":"10.1111/desc.70283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70283","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Poverty is a chronic social issue with profound implications for human development. Although scarcity theory provides a new framework for how poverty depletes mental resources, the specific cognitive pathways through which this process of depletion occurs and subsequently impairs cognition remain unclear. This study explored the integrative effect of attention and self-control resources on executive function through eye tracking among children in poverty. A total of 181 Chinese children (mean age 10.73 years; 48.62% boys) participated, 94 of whom lived in poor families. Children who experienced poverty and those who were not in poverty were first randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions (attention depletion, self-control depletion, or non-depletion), followed by executive function tasks. The results revealed that children in poverty showed poorer executive function in the condition of self-control depletion (the active purchasing task) than in the attention depletion (the passive viewing task) or non-depletion conditions. For children experiencing poverty, their attention to price did not differ between the self-control and attention depletion; however, in self-control depletion, they paid more attention to prices than children who were not in poverty did. In addition, more price viewing predicted a decrease in executive function in the poverty group only. Thus, attention scarcity is unique to impoverished children, and self-control results in a major depletion of executive function in the integrative mental process. This study extends the findings of previous research on economic scarcity in younger Asian populations and clarifies the mental process that integrates attention and self-control resources between poverty and executive function.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148943322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early Emergence of Cultural Differences in Audiovisual Speech Perception","authors":"Linlin Yan,&nbsp;Shuaike Hu,&nbsp;Yue Ding,&nbsp;Mengke Jin,&nbsp;Anna Krasotkina,&nbsp;Licai Ren,&nbsp;Shaoying Liu,&nbsp;Naiqi G. Xiao","doi":"10.1111/desc.70284","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70284","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Integrating auditory and visual cues is a hallmark of human speech perception, yet adults from East Asian backgrounds show less reliance on visual speech than their Western counterparts. The origins of this cultural difference, however, remain unknown. To investigate whether this divergence is established early in infancy, we examined audiovisual integration in 6- to 12-month-old White Canadian (<i>n</i> = 111) and Chinese (<i>n</i> = 115) infants using a novel paradigm measuring their perception of the McGurk effect. Across four experiments, we found a clear developmental divergence: Canadian infants showed a stable McGurk effect from 6 months onward, whereas Chinese infants showed a more protracted developmental trajectory, a cultural pattern that was further highlighted when their integration was challenged by other-race faces. These findings provide the first direct evidence that cultural differences in multisensory speech perception are established within the first year of life, suggesting that the brain's strategy for binding sight and sound is shaped by early experience, with broad implications for theories of language acquisition and developmental science.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/desc.70284","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148913603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introduction of a Novel Toy Changes the Contingent Dynamics of Infant-Caregiver Joint Exploration","authors":"Nayen Lee,&nbsp;Paola Hernandez Cintron,&nbsp;Viridiana L. Benitez,&nbsp;Kelsey Lucca","doi":"10.1111/desc.70281","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70281","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Infant-caregiver joint exploration is a dynamic process in which dyads coordinate their behaviors. Facing novelty is a critical moment in joint exploration, sparking learning by allowing infants to expand their knowledge and enabling caregivers to support it. However, little research has examined the impacts of novelty on infants’ and caregivers’ joint exploration. To address this gap, we investigated changes in their real-time contingent dynamics during exploration of novel versus familiar toys. Thirty-nine caregivers and their infants (<i>Mage =</i> 16 months) participated in a 10-min play session at home, consisting of two 5-min phases: a Familiarity Phase and a Novelty Phase, where a novel toy was introduced. A perceptually matched familiar toy was selected for systematic comparison in the Familiarity Phase. Infant exploration and caregiver exploration-promoting strategies (Verbal Promoting, Nonverbal Promoting, Monitoring) were coded at 1-s intervals. Infants were more likely to explore the novel toy following caregivers’ exploration-promoting behaviors, particularly when multiple strategies were provided within a short time window. Caregivers maintained similar levels of contingent responsiveness but adopted more observational strategies in response to infants’ novel toy exploration, potentially fostering infant-led, autonomous learning. Together, these results underscore the role of novelty in shaping how infant-caregiver dyads coordinate their contingent interactions, and suggest that such moment-to-moment adjustment may foster early learning.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148913802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shaping Development Through Parents: A Scalable Approach to Early Learning","authors":"Gonzalez-Gomez Nayeli,&nbsp;Naso Cecilia Eugenia,&nbsp;Tierney Fiona,&nbsp;Soba Roxana,&nbsp;Vazquez Claudia,&nbsp;Hendry Alexandra","doi":"10.1111/desc.70279","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70279","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Early childhood is a sensitive period for cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development, with parental engagement playing a central role. In Argentina, families facing socioeconomic adversity often encounter barriers that limit access to developmentally enriching parent–child activities; heightening developmental risk amid ongoing economic instability. We conducted an exploratory proof-of-concept study adapting low-cost parent–child activity packs—originally co-developed in the UK—for use in Argentina. The adaptation prioritised cultural relevance, developmental suitability, material accessibility, and day-to-day feasibility, with guidance from a local healthcare professional to ensure alignment with local caregiving practices. The adapted packs were distributed to 73 vulnerable families who attended one of eighteen Early Childhood Centres (CPI <i>Centro de Primera Infancia</i>). Parents provided feedback through surveys (<i>N</i> = 73) and sessions (<i>N</i> = 45). Infant development (<i>N</i> = 73) was assessed with the Bayley-III Scales. Parents reported increases in the frequency and variety of parent–child activities, alongside significant improvements in indicators of home learning environment quality. Thematic analysis identified perceived benefits for children (enjoyment, stimulation), families (stronger emotional bonds), and caregivers (greater capability, opportunity and motivation to engage in parent-child activities), as well as suggestions for refinement. As expected in a short-term, small-scale study of a light-touch programme, no significant changes were observed in Bayley-III scores. As an exploratory proof of concept, the results indicate that culturally-adapted, low-cost interventions are acceptable and can help strengthen caregiver support and early learning in disadvantaged contexts. Aligned with SDGs 1,3,4, and 10, this model offers a scalable approach to enhancing parental engagement and equitable access to early learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13543324/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to “Cascading Periods of Language-Related Brain Plasticity across Early Childhood”","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/desc.70282","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70282","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ellwood-Lowe, M. E., M. Nishio, A. J. Dufford, M. Arcaro, T. D. Satterthwaite, and A. P. Mackey. 2026. “Cascading Periods of Language-Related Brain Plasticity Across Early Childhood.” <i>Developmental Science</i> 29, no. 5: e70248. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70248</p><p>The following errors were published. \u0000\u0000 </p><p>These corrections have been made within the article. We apologize for the errors.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13543319/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trophies for All? Children's and Adolescents’ Reasoning About Inclusive Versus Selective Awards","authors":"Shuai Shao,&nbsp;Gail D. Heyman","doi":"10.1111/desc.70278","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70278","url":null,"abstract":"<p>How do children and adolescents reason about the consequences of institutional reward systems? We examined developmental differences in reasoning about inclusive versus selective awards in a youth sports context. Participants in two age groups (43 in the 7- to 9-year-old age group and 44 in the 15- to 18-year-old age group; 46% female, 49% male, 5% other or preferred not to say; majority Asian/White; USA, 2024–2025) read scenarios in which trophies were awarded either to all participants or only to top performers in a running race and predicted motivational, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Across age groups, participants expected selective awards to increase effort and pride, suggesting that by 7 years of age children recognize links between incentive structures and task engagement. By adolescence, systematic reasoning expanded to include the possibility that selective incentives could motivate behavior that conflicts with social norms or personal safety, including cheating and risk-taking. In addition, adolescents’, but not children's, preferences for reward systems were systematically related to their own perceived running ability, suggesting that evaluations of incentive systems increasingly align with self-interest across development. Together, these findings reveal both continuity and change in how young people reason about incentive systems: children as young as 7 linked reward systems to effort and pride, whereas adolescents additionally made inferences about self-interest and norm-conflicting behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13543323/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nucleus Accumbens and Ventral Tegmental Area Functional Connectivity as a Marker of Reward Sensitivity in Infancy","authors":"Megan M. Hare,&nbsp;Yanbin Niu,&nbsp;Charles H. Zeanah,&nbsp;Kathryn L. Humphreys","doi":"10.1111/desc.70277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70277","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Early functional connectivity within the brain's reward circuitry may provide insight into the developmental origins of individual differences in pleasure and motivation. This study examined resting-state functional connectivity between two key reward-related regions, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), in 94 one-month-old infants (58% male; M = 4.84 weeks, <i>SD</i> = 0.86) and its association with later reward-related temperament. Infants completed a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan during natural sleep with a mean of 11.09 (<i>SD</i> = 2.78) min of retained low-motion data. Caregivers reported their infants’ temperament at age six months, including high- and low-intensity pleasure as indicators of individual differences relevant to reward sensitivity. Positive resting-state functional connectivity between the NAc and VTA was present in early infancy (Cohen's <i>d</i> = 0.44, 95% CI [0.22, 0.65]), p &lt; 0.001). Less positive NAc–VTA connectivity was associated with greater high-intensity pleasure at six months (β = -0.32, 95% CI [-0.54, -0.10], <i>p</i> = 0.004), indicating that infants with stronger connectivity between these regions exhibited less enjoyment of highly stimulating, energetic activities. NAc–VTA connectivity was not associated with low-intensity pleasure (β = -0.01, 95% CI [-0.24, 0.21], <i>p</i> = 0.908). These findings suggest that early variation in mesolimbic connectivity may serve as a marker of emerging individual differences in reward responsiveness, with implications for understanding affective development in infancy.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/desc.70277","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148871947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Visual Cortical Response Variability in Infants at High Familial Likelihood for Autism.","authors":"Abigail Dickinson, Madison Booth, Scott Huberty, Declan Ryan, Alana Campbell, Jessica B Girault, Neely C Miller, Bonnie K Lau, John M Zempel, Sara Jane Webb, Jed T Elison, Adrian Kc Lee, Annette M Estes, Stephen R Dager, Heather C Hazlett, Jason J Wolff, Robert Schultz, Natasha Marrus, Alan C Evans, Joseph Piven, John R Pruett, Shafali S Jeste","doi":"10.1111/desc.70266","DOIUrl":"10.1111/desc.70266","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Visual processing undergoes rapid development in the first year of life, supporting the emergence of higher-order cognitive, language, and motor functions. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) provide a noninvasive measure of visual system maturation that may shed light on heterogeneous developmental trajectories among infants at high familial likelihood for autism. Infants with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (N = 177 at 6 months; N = 132 at 12 months) participated in the Infant Brain Imaging Study-Early Prediction (IBIS-EP) study. Pattern-reversal VEPs were recorded at 6 and 12 months, and developmental skills were assessed at 24 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-4). VEP components (P1 and N1) were characterized by their amplitude and latency, as well as trial-to-trial variability in these measures. Associations with 24-month cognitive, language, and motor scores were examined using general linear models controlling for age, site, sex, and trial count. Robust VEPs were observed at both time points, with age-appropriate morphology and expected developmental changes, including decreases in P1 latency and amplitude from 6 to 12 months. Greater trial-to-trial variability in P1 latency at both time points was associated with higher cognitive and language scores at 24 months. In contrast, conventional measures of mean P1 latency and amplitude were not associated with developmental outcomes. These findings suggest that temporal variability in early visual responses may index adaptive sensory-circuit flexibility during a period of rapid experience-dependent development. VEP response-timing variability may therefore provide an early mechanistic marker of sensory-circuit organization relevant to later developmental trajectories.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 5","pages":"e70266"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13444209/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148680610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distinct Associations of Threat and Deprivation With Changes in Affective Control during Adolescence: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study","authors":"Sjur S. Sætren,&nbsp;Tore Tjora,&nbsp;Christian K. Tamnes,&nbsp;Lia Ferchman,&nbsp;Gertrud Sofie Hafstad,&nbsp;Else-Marie Augusti","doi":"10.1111/desc.70264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70264","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Childhood adversity has been linked to disruptions in the development of emotion regulation, yet few longitudinal studies have examined whether distinct dimensions of adversity are differentially associated with changes in affective inhibitory control across adolescence. This study examined whether threat and deprivation experiences differentially predicted changes in affective inhibitory control across early to middle adolescence. Participants were 902 adolescents (51.5% girls) from the UEVO study, assessed at ages 12–14 years at Time 1 (T1) and 15–16 years at Time 2 (T2). Affective inhibitory control was measured using an online emotional go/no-go task. Adolescents showed fewer false alarms to angry no-go stimuli at T2 than at T1, indicating improvement in affective inhibitory control over time. Latent change score modeling further supported this pattern, showing that adolescents with poorer baseline performance demonstrated greater improvement over time (<i>β</i> = −0.66, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). In the primary model, higher levels of threat predicted less improvement in affective inhibitory control (<i>β</i> = 0.09, <i>p</i> = 0.013), whereas deprivation was not significantly associated with change (<i>β</i> = −0.05, <i>p</i> = 0.073). Neither threat nor deprivation predicted change in false alarms to neutral faces. In sensitivity analyses adjusting for gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), and caregiver risk, threat remained a significant predictor of less improvement (<i>β</i> = 0.12, <i>p</i> = 0.004), whereas deprivation emerged as a small predictor of greater improvement (<i>β</i> = −0.06, <i>p</i> = 0.042). Post-hoc multigroup analyses provided no evidence that the associations between adversity and change differed by gender. These findings suggest that threat and deprivation show partly distinct associations with affective inhibitory control, with threat-related adversity emerging as the more consistent predictor of reduced improvement across early to middle adolescence.</p>","PeriodicalId":48392,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Science","volume":"29 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/desc.70264","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148616822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}