ABSTRACT
Behavioral contingency is a central construct in many theories of early development (e.g., Lewis & Goldberg, 1969; Schaffer, 1984; Symons & Moran, 1994). For example, Spelke, Phillips, and Woodward (1995) suggest that contingency (humans reacting to one another), reciprocity (humans responding in kind to one another’s actions), and communication (humans supplying one another with information) are important to young infants. Dunham, Dunham, Hurshman, and Alexander (1989) point out that in most theories of infant development, contingent adult responsiveness is considered to have positive effects on the infant. Noncontingent stimulation is considered to have negative consequences by reducing the infant’s motivation to participate in contingency relationships and impairing the infant’s ability to detect contingent relationships.
