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Specificity of learning: why infants fall over a veritable cliff

K E Adolph1

  • 1Psychology Department, New York University, 6 Washington Pl., Room 401, New York, NY 10003, USA. adolph@psych.nyu.edu

Psychological Science
|March 29, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Nine-month-old infants avoid risky gaps when sitting but fall when crawling, indicating posture-specific motor control. Avoidance relies on postural stability, not general fear of heights.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Motor Control
  • Infant Behavior

Background:

  • Infants' ability to perceive and navigate environmental risks is crucial for development.
  • Previous research suggested general knowledge influences depth perception and avoidance behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how postural experience influences infants' avoidance of risky gaps.
  • To determine the basis of adaptive avoidance responses in infants.

Main Methods:

  • Nine-month-old infants were tested on their reaching and avoidance responses to gaps in their support surface.
  • Responses were compared between a familiar sitting posture and a less familiar crawling posture.

Main Results:

  • Infants avoided risky gaps in the sitting posture.
  • Infants fell into risky gaps while reaching in the crawling posture.
  • This dissociation highlights posture-specific control systems.

Conclusions:

  • Infants' avoidance responses are based on specific information about postural stability relative to gap size.
  • Developmental changes in posture involve modularly organized control systems.
  • Avoidance of depth disparities is not solely dependent on general knowledge like fear of heights.

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