Early Development of Preterm and Full-Term Infants: Exploratory Behavior in Eight-Month-Olds

SIGMAN, MARIAN. Early Development of Preterm and Full-Term Infants: Exploratory Behavior in EightMonth-Olds. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 606-612. Preference for novelty, as measured with an exploratory behavior paradigm, was compared in 8-month-old full-term infants and preterm infants of matched conceptional age. The groups differed in the first 2 minutes following familiarization, with the preterm infants exploring the familiar object for a longer duration and showing less preference for the novel object than the full-term infants. A comparision of high-risk and low-risk preterm infants, with classification based on multiple assessments, revealed a marked difference between groups. Furthermore, female infants explored the novel objects for longer periods than did male infants.