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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
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Not just playing around: infants' behaviors with objects reflect ability, constraints, and object properties
Michele A Lobo1, Elena Kokkoni1, Ana Carolina de Campos2
1Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Delaware, United States.
Infant Behavior & Development
|June 1, 2014
Summary
Infants rapidly develop sophisticated object exploration skills within six months, adapting behaviors to body position and object properties. Their exploration strategies evolve dynamically over the first two years of life.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Motor Development
Background:
- Understanding infant object interaction is crucial for developmental milestones.
- Early exploration behaviors lay the foundation for cognitive and motor development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the longitudinal development of infant object behaviors.
- To analyze how age, body position, and object properties influence these behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal assessment of object behaviors in 22 healthy infants.
- Observations recorded from birth to 2 years.
- Infants observed in supine, prone, and sitting positions.
Main Results:
- Infants become sophisticated explorers by 6 months.
- Behavioral profiles vary across time and developmental trajectories.
- Object behaviors are similar in supine/sitting positions, diminished in prone.
- Newborns begin matching behaviors to object properties.
Conclusions:
- Infants dynamically adapt object exploration strategies.
- Development involves matching behaviors to body position and object affordances.
- Early exploration demonstrates a sophisticated learning process.
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