Understanding Object Exploration: The Role of Temperament Early in Life

Object exploration presents infants and young children with valuable opportunities for learning across domains. What factors motivate and constrain exploratory behavior? In the present studies, we highlight the infant's contributions to object exploration by testing links between parent-reported temperament and observed exploratory behaviors. In two samples, Study 1: 24-month-olds (N = 35, 51% female; 88% White; 95% non-Hispanic) and Study 2: 6-month-olds (N = 96, 50% female; 82% White; 89% non-Hispanic), we assessed object exploration via coding of child behavior during two different lab-based free play tasks. Across both samples, infants rated higher in temperamental surgency engaged in a more rapid pace of object exploration (i.e., moving quickly between objects). Additionally, cluster analyses indicated that infants characterized by high activity level, high positive affect, and high negative affect spent more time engaged in fine motor exploration (i.e., fingering and transferring) compared to infants characterized by average activity level, high positive affect, and low negative affect. These findings indicate a link between temperament and exploratory behavior in infancy and toddlerhood.