‘Do You See What I See?’ Study shows cross-cultural variation in maternal focus during parent-child interactions
Human children are known for their sensitivity to social cues (such as eye-gaze and joint attention) more so than other primates. While most research on joint attention (two people focused on the same object) has focused on children living in Western and North American countries, little is known about how caregiver-child interactions differ across cultural groups beyond infancy.
To fill this gap, a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Waseda University examined caregiver-child interaction in the United States and Japan to connect the learning experiences and precise changes in cognitive development among preschool-aged children.
…“Comparing caregiver-child interactions in the United States and Japan enabled the testing of cultural groups that are similar in terms of economy, education, and technology while having different cultural values,” said Sawa Senzaki, associate professor of psychology and Director of Child’s Lab at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
