# Infants in Control—Evidence for Agency in 6‐ to 10‐Months‐Old Infants in a Gaze‐Contingent Eye Tracking Paradigm

## TL;DR

This study shows that infants as young as 6 to 10 months can control their eye movements to explore hidden images, suggesting they have a sense of agency.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel gaze-contingent eye tracking paradigm to demonstrate infants' flexible control of eye movements.

## Key findings

- Infants directed their gaze to areas with the most information in hidden images.
- Results indicate infants can adjust their gaze to changing circumstances.

## Abstract

The ability to control movement is a core element of agency. Previous studies of infant agency have focused on responses to sensory contingencies but neglected the importance of infants' control as a necessary indicator of agency. Here, we test whether infants flexibly control their eye movements with a gaze‐contingent eye tracking paradigm. Infants aged 6–10 months (N = 45, 18 female, recruited in a city of about 600.000 inhabitants in Germany in 2022) were presented images hidden under a unicolored surface, which they could scratch free by gazing over the screen. Results show that infants flexibly directed their gaze to areas with most information in the underlying image. This indicates that infants can flexibly adjust their gaze to changing circumstances.