Social Information Guides Infants' Selection of Foods

Abstract

Two experiments investigated the influence of socially conveyed emotions and speech on infants' choices among food. After watching films in which two unfamiliar actresses each spoke while eating a different kind of food, 12-month-old infants were allowed to choose between the two foods. In Experiment 1, infants selected a food endorsed by a speaker of their native language who displayed positive affect over a food endorsed by a foreign-language speaker who displayed negative affect. In Experiment 2, both actresses displayed positive affect, but they spoke in different languages, and infants again selected the food associated with the speaker of their native language. The findings contrast with previous research in which infants and toddlers have shown little selectivity when presented with foods that differ in their intrinsic properties such as color, texture, and familiarity. Although infants may lack capacities for evaluating foods on their own, they do look to other people for guidance in food selection.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by NIH Grant HD23103 to E.S.S.

We thank Katharina Cieplak-von Baldegg for assistance with video stimuli and Jasmine DeJesus, Marissa Martinez, and Jessica Wang for assistance with testing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kristin Shutts

Kristin Shutts is now at the Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison.