Developmental differences in infants' use of an object's shape to grasp it securely
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace
Published on: August 8, 2019
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0086, USA.
Abstract:
This study examined twenty two 11- and 13-month-old infants' approach and grasp of two objects-one symmetric and one asymmetric-in an effort to understand infants' use of shape information to plan motor action. At first contact, all infants grasped the asymmetrical object further from its center of mass than the symmetrical object. In addition, results highlighted developmental differences in infants' abilities to correct for less stable hand placements, to maintain control of the objects without dropping, strategies used to obtain the objects, and latencies to grasp the objects. Older infants showed more effective skills in each of the aforementioned areas. Implications for our understanding of the development of processing of visual information for action are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
Attachment
The Nativist Approach
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development
Conservation and Constancy of Quantity
A significant cognitive milestone in the concrete...

