Infants attribute goals even to biomechanically impossible actions.
Victoria Southgate1, Mark H Johnson, Gergely Csibra
1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom. v.southgate@bbk.ac.uk
Cognition
|December 15, 2007
Summary
Human infants attribute goals to actions based on physical efficiency, not just experience. This suggests goal perception in infants may stem from recognizing event structures rather than direct learning.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Infant Psychology
- Action Perception
Background:
- Human infants interpret others' actions as goal-directed.
- The origins of this cognitive skill are debated, with theories focusing on experience versus event structure recognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether infants' recognition of goal-directed actions relies on experience or event structure.
- To determine the basis of goal attribution in human infants.
Main Methods:
- Infants were tested on their interpretation of actions, including biomechanically impossible yet physically efficient ones.
- The study analyzed whether goal attribution extended to actions not directly learned through experience.
Main Results:
- Infants extended goal attribution to biomechanically impossible actions.
- This extension occurred as long as the actions were physically efficient.
Conclusions:
- Infants' notion of 'goal' is unlikely derived directly from their own experience with goal-directed actions.
- Perception of goal-directed actions in infants may be linked to recognizing physical efficiency within event structures.
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