Distractibility during infants' examining and repetitive rhythmic activity.

The goal of this study was to assess the role of examining and repetitive rhythmic activity in infants' exploration of novel objects. Sixteen 8-month-old infants played with novel toys as auditory-visual slide distractors occurred on one side at random intervals. The results showed that examining, but not repetitive activities, declined with exposure to the objects. They also showed that infants had different patterns of distractibility during examining and repetitive rhythmic activities. The infants were slower to turn to the distractor if they were examining the toy than if they were engaged in other activity, but the probability of a response did not differ. In contrast, when engaged in repetitive rhythmic activity, infants were less likely to respond to the distractor than when engaged in other activities, including examining; the speed with which they responded, however, did not differ. The results suggest that, during these two activities, the mechanisms for resisting distraction are quite different.