On screen experiment showed that becoming a parent for the first time shifted people's priorities from themselves to their infant at 1 year of age

Aim This study used a screen-based perceptual matching task to see how non-parents, people trying to get pregnant, and those who had given birth prioritised shapes and labels relating to self or infant conditions. Methods The study took place at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark from December 2016 to November 2021. Recruitment methods included family planning clinics, social media, online recruitment systems and local bulletin boards. The modified perceptual matching task linked five shapes to five labels, including self and infant. Results We found that 67 males and females with a mean age of 24.4 +/- 3 years, who had no plans to become parents in the near future, reacted faster and more accurately to self-shapes and labels (p < 0.001), which validated the experiment. The 56 participants aged 27.1 +/- 4.4 years who were actively trying to become parents showed no statistically significant prioritisation. A subset of 21 participants aged 28.7 +/- 4.4 years showed faster response times to infant than self-shapes and labels 1 year after giving birth (p < 0.001). Conclusion Healthy first-time parents showed faster reactions to infant than self-conditions 1 year after giving birth, in contrast to the other two groups.

Automated summary

This study used a screen-based perceptual matching task to examine the prioritization of self and infant conditions among non-parents, people trying to conceive, and those who had given birth. The results showed that first-time parents reacted faster to infant conditions one year after giving birth, while the other two groups did not show this prioritization.