A Developmental Analysis of "Virtual Acid Responses" in Infancy

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  • 他者の食べるレモンはいかにして酸っぱいか? : 乳児期における擬似酸味反応の発達的検討
  • タシャ ノ タベル レモン ワ イカニ シテ スッパイ カ ニュウジキ ニ オケル ギジ サンミ ハンノウ ノ ハッタツテキ ケントウ

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Abstract

This study examined Virtual Acid Responses ("VAR") as representatives of the mechanism of identification in infancy. VAR is a very ordinary phenomenon which occurs in perception of another person's eating something sour. Individuals who tasted a pickled plum express sourness facially when seeing a person eating a plum with a neutral facial expression. In this case, a baby would experience VAR as if she had eaten the pickled plum herself. Forty-three infants (younger group ages 5-9 months, n=22; older-group ages 9-14 months, n=21) participated in this study. Infants in the experimental group (Lemontasting group, or "LE") tasted a lemon and then were presented with a situation where the experimenter tasted a lemon while making a neutral facial expression. Control group infants (Non-lemon-tasting group, or NLE) did not taste the lemon but instead ate a small piece of soft-rice-cracker, and were then presented the same stimulus as the experimental group infants. The reactions of infants were coded into nine behavioral categories. The key findings were that (1) LE babies showed significantly more numbers of categories compared to NLE babies; (2) LE babies in the younger group tended to show frowning and lip-movements, although LE babies in the older group tended to show reaching and vocalizing; and (3) reactions related to VAR in the LE group were equal or more obvious compared to those of NLE babies presented with aversive facial expressions by adult model.

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