A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways

Manuel Bohn; Julia C. Prein; Agnes Ayikoru; Florian Bednarski; Ardain Dzabatou; Michael C. Frank; Annette M. E. Hendersen; Joan Isabella; Josefine Kalbitz; Patricia Kanngiesser; Dilara Keşşafoğlu; Bahar  Köymen; Maria V. Manrique-Hernandez; Shirley Magazi; Lizbeth Mújica-Manrique; Julia Ohlendorf; Damilola Olaoba; Wesley R. Pieters; Sarah Pope-Caldwell; Katie Slocombe; Robert Z. Sparks; Jahnavi Sunderarajan; Wilson Vieira; Zhen Zhang; Yufei Zong; Roman Stengelin; Daniel B. M. Haun

A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways

Manuel Bohn^*, Julia C. Prein, Agnes Ayikoru, Florian Bednarski, Ardain Dzabatou, Michael C. Frank, Annette M. E. Hendersen, Joan Isabella, Josefine Kalbitz, Patricia Kanngiesser, Dilara Keşşafoğlu, Bahar Köymen, Maria V. Manrique-Hernandez, Shirley Magazi, Lizbeth Mújica-Manrique, Julia Ohlendorf, Damilola Olaoba, Wesley R. Pieters, Sarah Pope-Caldwell, Katie SlocombeRobert Z. Sparks, Jahnavi Sunderarajan, Wilson Vieira, Zhen Zhang, Yufei Zong, Roman Stengelin, Daniel B. M. Haun

^*Corresponding author for this work

Division of Psychology Communication and Human Neuroscience (L5)

Leuphana University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Theoretical accounts typically assume, but rarely test, that key features of human socio-cognitive development are universal. This paper reports a large-scale, comprehensive cross-cultural study (17 communities, five continents, N = 1377, 709 female, mean = 5.50 years) on gaze following in early childhood. To test for universality, a cognitive processing signature was derived from a computational model treating gaze following as social vector estimation. Results showed substantial variation between communities and individuals. Yet, the processing signature was found in all communities. Individual differences in performance were related to children’s familiarity with the data-collection device but not opportunities for social interaction. These results provide strong evidence for gaze following as a universal socio-cognitive process despite cultural and individual-level variation in performance.

Original language	English
Journal	Child Development
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2025

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Bohn, M., Prein, J. C., Ayikoru, A., Bednarski, F., Dzabatou, A., Frank, M. C., Hendersen, A. M. E., Isabella, J., Kalbitz, J., Kanngiesser, P., Keşşafoğlu, D., Köymen, B., Manrique-Hernandez, M. V., Magazi, S., Mújica-Manrique, L., Ohlendorf, J., Olaoba, D., Pieters, W. R., Pope-Caldwell, S., ... Haun, D. B. M. (Accepted/In press). A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways. Child Development.

@article{ba7d61a60d2b4290941a9921b66c7b3b,

title = "A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways",

abstract = "Theoretical accounts typically assume, but rarely test, that key features of human socio-cognitive development are universal. This paper reports a large-scale, comprehensive cross-cultural study (17 communities, five continents, N = 1377, 709 female, mean = 5.50 years) on gaze following in early childhood. To test for universality, a cognitive processing signature was derived from a computational model treating gaze following as social vector estimation. Results showed substantial variation between communities and individuals. Yet, the processing signature was found in all communities. Individual differences in performance were related to children{\textquoteright}s familiarity with the data-collection device but not opportunities for social interaction. These results provide strong evidence for gaze following as a universal socio-cognitive process despite cultural and individual-level variation in performance.",

author = "Manuel Bohn and Prein, \{Julia C.\} and Agnes Ayikoru and Florian Bednarski and Ardain Dzabatou and Frank, \{Michael C.\} and Hendersen, \{Annette M. E.\} and Joan Isabella and Josefine Kalbitz and Patricia Kanngiesser and Dilara Ke{\c s}{\c s}afoğlu and Bahar K{\"o}ymen and Manrique-Hernandez, \{Maria V.\} and Shirley Magazi and Lizbeth M{\'u}jica-Manrique and Julia Ohlendorf and Damilola Olaoba and Pieters, \{Wesley R.\} and Sarah Pope-Caldwell and Katie Slocombe and Sparks, \{Robert Z.\} and Jahnavi Sunderarajan and Wilson Vieira and Zhen Zhang and Yufei Zong and Roman Stengelin and Haun, \{Daniel B. M.\}",

year = "2025",

language = "English",

journal = "Child Development",

issn = "0009-3920",

publisher = "John Wiley \& Sons Ltd",

}

Bohn, M, Prein, JC, Ayikoru, A, Bednarski, F, Dzabatou, A, Frank, MC, Hendersen, AME, Isabella, J, Kalbitz, J, Kanngiesser, P, Keşşafoğlu, D, Köymen, B, Manrique-Hernandez, MV, Magazi, S, Mújica-Manrique, L, Ohlendorf, J, Olaoba, D, Pieters, WR, Pope-Caldwell, S, Slocombe, K, Sparks, RZ, Sunderarajan, J, Vieira, W, Zhang, Z, Zong, Y, Stengelin, R & Haun, DBM 2025, 'A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways', Child Development.

TY - JOUR

T1 - A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways

AU - Bohn, Manuel

AU - Prein, Julia C.

AU - Ayikoru, Agnes

AU - Bednarski, Florian

AU - Dzabatou, Ardain

AU - Frank, Michael C.

AU - Hendersen, Annette M. E.

AU - Isabella, Joan

AU - Kalbitz, Josefine

AU - Kanngiesser, Patricia

AU - Keşşafoğlu, Dilara

AU - Köymen, Bahar

AU - Manrique-Hernandez, Maria V.

AU - Magazi, Shirley

AU - Mújica-Manrique, Lizbeth

AU - Ohlendorf, Julia

AU - Olaoba, Damilola

AU - Pieters, Wesley R.

AU - Pope-Caldwell, Sarah

AU - Slocombe, Katie

AU - Sparks, Robert Z.

AU - Sunderarajan, Jahnavi

AU - Vieira, Wilson

AU - Zhang, Zhen

AU - Zong, Yufei

AU - Stengelin, Roman

AU - Haun, Daniel B. M.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Theoretical accounts typically assume, but rarely test, that key features of human socio-cognitive development are universal. This paper reports a large-scale, comprehensive cross-cultural study (17 communities, five continents, N = 1377, 709 female, mean = 5.50 years) on gaze following in early childhood. To test for universality, a cognitive processing signature was derived from a computational model treating gaze following as social vector estimation. Results showed substantial variation between communities and individuals. Yet, the processing signature was found in all communities. Individual differences in performance were related to children’s familiarity with the data-collection device but not opportunities for social interaction. These results provide strong evidence for gaze following as a universal socio-cognitive process despite cultural and individual-level variation in performance.

AB - Theoretical accounts typically assume, but rarely test, that key features of human socio-cognitive development are universal. This paper reports a large-scale, comprehensive cross-cultural study (17 communities, five continents, N = 1377, 709 female, mean = 5.50 years) on gaze following in early childhood. To test for universality, a cognitive processing signature was derived from a computational model treating gaze following as social vector estimation. Results showed substantial variation between communities and individuals. Yet, the processing signature was found in all communities. Individual differences in performance were related to children’s familiarity with the data-collection device but not opportunities for social interaction. These results provide strong evidence for gaze following as a universal socio-cognitive process despite cultural and individual-level variation in performance.

M3 - Article

SN - 0009-3920

JO - Child Development

JF - Child Development

ER -

A universal of human social cognition: Children from 17 communities process gaze in similar ways

Abstract

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