Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare goggle-eyed at the television--they are actually learning about the world, U.S. researchers said. Parents may want to limit what their infants see on television, based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tufts University in Boston, who led the research。
"Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based on the emotional reactions of adults around them," Mumme said in a statement. "It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television. This means that adults might want to think twice before they speak in a harsh or surprising tone or let an infant see television programs meant for an older person."
Mumme's team already knew that babies watch other children and adults for cues about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some "yummy" soup or a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches can influence an infant's reaction。
穆米的研究小组原本就知道小宝宝会通过观察其他孩子和大人来了解世界，像妈妈催促孩子喝下的“可口的”汤或是兄弟被走近的够吓哭这样的事情都会影响他们的反应。
Mumme's team tested babies to determine if television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as a red spiral letter holder, a blue bumpy ball, and a yellow garden hose attachment. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, but the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted neutrally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the infant would avoid the object。
为了弄清电视是否也有同样的作用，研究小组对小宝宝进行了测试。他们给孩子们放录像，内容是演员对红色螺旋形信插、蓝色邦比球以及黄色的园用浇水软管附件之类物品的反应，然后再把同样的东西给10个月到1岁大的小宝宝玩。录像对10个月大的宝宝们似乎没什么影响，但却对1岁的宝宝起了作用。当演员对某件物品反应平淡或积极时，孩子们会开心地玩它；而当演员表现得恐惧或厌烦时，孩子们就会避开这件东西。
Mumme's team tested babies to determine if television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as a red spiral letter holder, a blue bumpy ball, and a yellow garden hose attachment. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, but the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted neutrally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the infant would avoid the object。