Caregiver-infant behaviours during multi-component object play predict infant visual working memory.

Through play interactions, caregivers play a significant role in shaping children’s early cognitive development. There is limited research on caregiver-infant behaviours during different types of play interactions, and links to infant visual working memory. To address this, we collected video-recordings from caregivers and their 6-to-10-month-old infants while they engaged in two types of play interactions i.e. with single objects (SO) such as toy car, cup etc. and multi-component objects (MO) such as stacking, sorting toys etc. We coded caregiver intrusiveness, caregiver scaffolding, infant object engagement and infant distractibility during both interactions. Visual working memory was assessed in infants using a preferential looking task. Caregivers and infants showed more scaffolding and object engagement, respectively, during MO play compared to SO play. Further, caregiver intrusiveness, caregiver scaffolding and infant object engagement during SO play was positively associated with these respective behaviours during MO play. Finally, greater caregiver scaffolding alongside greater infant object engagement and reduced distractibility only during MO play was associated with better infant visual working memory performance, underscoring the importance of play interactions that allow infants to actively engage perceptual, motor, and cognitive processes using objects of different sizes, shapes, and functions.