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Do infants recognize relationships indirectly?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2026

Ayshe Ozlu ,
Claudia G. Sehl Open the ORCID record for Claudia G. Sehl [Opens in a new window] ,
Stephanie Denison  and
Ori Friedman Open the ORCID record for Ori Friedman [Opens in a new window]
Ayshe Ozlu
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada aozlu@uwaterloo.ca claudia.sehl@uwaterloo.ca stephanie.denison@uwaterloo.ca friedman@uwaterloo.ca
Claudia G. Sehl
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada aozlu@uwaterloo.ca claudia.sehl@uwaterloo.ca stephanie.denison@uwaterloo.ca friedman@uwaterloo.ca
Stephanie Denison
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada aozlu@uwaterloo.ca claudia.sehl@uwaterloo.ca stephanie.denison@uwaterloo.ca friedman@uwaterloo.ca
Ori Friedman*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada aozlu@uwaterloo.ca claudia.sehl@uwaterloo.ca stephanie.denison@uwaterloo.ca friedman@uwaterloo.ca
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

The target article notes ways infants can use direct interactions between individuals to recognize relationships. We ask whether infants might also recognize relationships between individuals indirectly, by observing how they interact with other people. We suggest that indirect information might be used to distinguish between communal sharing and equality matching relationships and discuss how it might support inferences of relationship strength.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e41
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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