# PTE SST #10: The Strategic Nature of Infant...

Summarize Spoken Text #10 - Level 2 - Feeds Writing + Listening

> You will hear a short lecture. Write a summary on what you have just heard from the lecture in your own words.You have 10 minutes to finish this task. Your response will be judged on the Quality of Your writing and on how well your response presents the key points presented in the lecture.

## Answer

The speaker reveals that babies use strategic timing when they smile. Research shows babies smile not for fun but to make their mothers smile back. Mothers prefer mutual smiling, while babies mainly want smiles directed at them. Thus, even before they can talk, babies exhibit sophisticated social behavior to influence interactions effectively.

## Explanation

The lecture highlights that infant smiles are strategic, not spontaneous. Infants aim to maximize their mothers' smiles and engage in simultaneous smiling. Mothers also seek this interaction, though their goals differ slightly from their infants'.

## Hints

- Focus on the main argument: are infant smiles random or intentional?
- Note the four categories of interaction mentioned in the study.

## Transcript

Ever try to get a baby to smile? It can seem close to impossible--and then suddenly there it is: that elusive, seemingly joyous grin. Well it turns out those smiles aren't spontaneous--they're strategic. Researchers have found that when babies smile, it's for a reason. They want whoever they're interacting with--typically a parent--to smile back. And they time it just so, a smile here and a smile there. The researchers call it sophisticated timing. The study is in the journal PLoS ONE. The researchers enlisted real mothers and infants and quantified their interactions, which fell into four categories. One: babies wanted to maximize the amount of time smiling at their mothers. Two: they wanted to maximize the time the mothers smiled at them. Three: they wanted to experience simultaneous smiling, and four: no smiling at all. By studying when smiles happened and what the subsequent effect was, the investigators were able to figure out that for mothers the goal 70 percent of the time was to be smiling simultaneously--while for babies 80 percent of the time they just wanted their mother smiling at them. So, mothers want the interaction, while babies just want to be smiled at. So your baby may not be able to feed itself, talk or even turn over yet. But when it comes to smiles, babies seem to know exactly what they're up to.

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