Infants' Use of Force to Defend Toys: The Origins of Instrumental Aggression

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
Dale F HayAndrea Chadwick

Abstract

The two aims of the study were (a) to determine when infants begin to use force intentionally to defend objects to which they might have a claim and (b) to examine the relationship between toddlers' instrumental use of force and their tendencies to make possession claims. Infants' and toddlers' reactions to peers' attempts to take their toys were assessed in three independent data sets in which the same observational coding system had been used (N = 200). To ensure that infants' use of force was goal-directed and not a simple physical reaction, we recorded infants' reactions when peers picked up toys that the focal infants had just put down, or were nearby or in the focal infants' mothers' laps. The use of force in response to peers' taking over toys was evident before the first birthday, but more common thereafter, although only a minority of children in each sample used force. Analysis of a combined data set revealed that force was deployed more often by 2-year-olds than younger infants, and was significantly associated with verbal references to people's possession of objects. These observations show that toddlers do deploy force intentionally to defend their possessions.

References

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Apr 1, 2000·Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·Joseph J CamposDavid Witherington

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Citations

Mar 5, 2016·Cognitive Science·Shaylene E Nancekivell, Ori Friedman
Mar 13, 2014·Developmental Science·Dale F HayStephanie van Goozen
Oct 7, 2014·The British Journal of Developmental Psychology·Craig E Smith, Felix Warneken
Oct 25, 2016·Developmental Science·Audun Dahl
Sep 13, 2014·Development and Psychopathology·Michael F LorberAmy M Smith Slep
Oct 7, 2020·Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·Alessandra Geraci
May 12, 2021·Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development·Dale F HayRhiannon Slade
Jun 3, 2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Miriam Romero-LópezJudit Bembibre-Serrano

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