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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Visual constraints in the development of action.
Geert Savelsbergh1, Simone Caljouw, Paulion van Hof
1Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Progress in Brain Research
|October 9, 2007
Summary
Infants learn to control avoidance and interception behaviors by attuning to visual information, developing their action capabilities. This process aligns with the two-visual systems model of perception and action.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Ecological Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Infancy involves significant developmental changes in motor control.
- Understanding how infants perceive and act is crucial for developmental research.
- The ecological psychology approach emphasizes perception-action coupling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of visual information in infant avoidance and interception behaviors.
- To explore how developmental changes in action relate to the use of visual information sources.
- To connect findings to Milner and Goodale's two-visual system model.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of infant behaviors related to avoidance and interception.
- Examination of the use of different visual information sources during development.
- Theoretical integration with the ecological psychology approach.
Main Results:
- Infant action development is linked to the utilization of distinct visual information sources.
- Attunement to visual cues enhances the perception of action possibilities (affordances).
- Findings support the concept of separate visual systems for perception and action.
Conclusions:
- Visual information is key to controlling infant avoidance and interception behaviors.
- Developmental attunement to visual information shapes action capabilities.
- The findings are consistent with the two-visual system model governing perception and action.
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