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Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

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Learning to walk changes infants' social interactions.

Melissa W Clearfield¹

¹Department of Psychology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 99362, USA. clearfmw@whitman.edu

Infant Behavior & Development

|May 19, 2010

Summary

Independent walking, a key motor milestone, enhances infant social behaviors. Walking infants show increased interaction with toys, mothers, and more complex communication, suggesting a link between locomotion and social development.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Infant Motor Development
Social Interaction

Background:

Crawling is recognized as a significant milestone influencing motor, cognitive, and social development.
The potential for independent walking to represent a second social milestone requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if independent walking serves as a second milestone for social behaviors in infants.
To compare the social behaviors of independently walking infants with those of crawling infants.

Main Methods:

Experiment 1: Compared social and exploratory behaviors of crawling infants in natural crawling vs. baby-walker conditions.
Experiment 2: Compared social behaviors of independently walking infants with age-matched infants using baby-walkers.
Experiment 3: Longitudinal tracking of social behaviors during the transition from crawling to independent walking.

Main Results:

No significant differences in social behaviors were observed based on posture (crawling vs. baby-walker) in Experiment 1.
Independently walking infants demonstrated significantly more interaction with toys and mothers, increased vocalizations, and more directed gestures compared to infants in walkers.
The transition to independent walking was associated with increased and more sophisticated mother-infant interactions, including joint attention behaviors.

Conclusions:

Independent walking represents a significant milestone that enhances infant social engagement and interaction.
A developmental progression exists, linking advancements in locomotor skills with the development of social behaviors.
Locomotor development, specifically independent walking, appears to facilitate more complex social communication and interaction in infants.