Prediction of Cognitive Performance from Infancy to Early Childhood

Two longitudinal studies are described, in both of which it was found that measures of looking behaviour in early infancy predicted later problem solving and verbal and general intelligence. These results are a further demonstration that cognitive development from infancy to later childhood displays some degree of continuity. It is argued that these and other findings do not give clear support for any single model of continuity and that there are no obvious theoretical reasons for selecting one potential predictor in preference to another.