Looking patterns of mentally retarded and nonretarded infants in play and instructional interactions.

Gaze patterns of mentally retarded and nonretarded infants during play and instructional episodes with their mothers were compared at two developmental ages. Dyads were videotaped in their homes. Measures were derived from second-by-second coding of the videotapes. Results indicated that regardless of group, situation, or age, infants were overwhelmingly oriented toward the toys. Situational differences were more distinct in the nonretarded infants. Moreover, configurations of looking patterns were more consistent across ages in the nonretarded infants than in the retarded infants. These results were discussed in relation to implications for understanding characteristics of interactions between retarded infants and their caregivers.