Attention and reaction to distress in infancy: A longitudinal study

The primary aim of this study was to verify whether early individual differ ences in look duration are related to general mechanisms of the infant nerv ous system that draw together attention and emotion, Thirty-one infants wer e observed at 3, 5, and 11 months of age. Facial expressions of pain and di stress were observed by means of C. Izard's (1979) Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System 90 s after routine pediatric vaccinations. S everal measures of visual attention were taken experimentally in a separate testing session. Significant correlations between measures of attention an d duration of facial expressions of pain and distress were found at each ag e level. Infants who showed pain or distress for a shorter time period also paid attention for a shorter time period and vice verse. The main conclusi on is that individual differences combining control of both pain and attent ion can be identified from early infancy.