Article

Can 14- to 20-month-old children learn that a tool serves multiple purposes? A developmental study on children's action goal prediction.

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Vision research (impact factor: 2.29). 12/2010; 51(8):955-60. DOI:10.1016/j.visres.2010.12.012 pp.955-60
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT We investigated infants' visual anticipations to the target of an ongoing tool-use action and examined if infants can learn that tools serve multiple functions and can thus be used on different targets. Specifically, we addressed the question at what age children are able to predict the goal of an ongoing tool-use action on the basis of how the actor initiates the action. Fourteen- and 20-month-old children watched a model using a tool to execute two different actions. Each way of grasping and holding the tool was predictive for its use on a particular target. Analyses revealed that the 20- but not the 14-month-olds were able to visually anticipate to the correct target during action observation, which suggests that they perceived the initial part of the tool-use action as predictive for its use on an action target.

0 0
 · 
0 Bookmarks
 · 
23 Views
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

20-month-old children
 
action target
 
actor initiates
 
correct target
 
different actions
 
different targets
 
grasping
 
infants' visual anticipations
 
initial part
 
ongoing tool-use action
 
particular target
 
tool-use action
 
tools