Psychology · Developmental and Educational Psychology
A study of 61 mother–infant pairs found that vocal coordination was strongest when the pairs were about 40 centimeters apart—roughly within arm’s reach. Infants showed above-chance vocal coordination at distances between 30 and 50 centimeters, but the pattern did not become stronger with age.
Wild chimpanzees with overlapping visual gestures appeared to share repertoires for reasons beyond repeated exposure and reinforcement. The findings are more consistent with the idea that cues such as vocalizations, gestures and waiting for a response help chimpanzees infer communicative goals in uncertain social situations.
Children became less effective at learning patterns as they grew from age 7 to 14, according to a longitudinal study. The decline was associated with higher levels of executive functions, the mental abilities used for goal-directed behavior.
