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The cost of simplifying complex developmental phenomena: a new perspective on learning to walk
Do Kyeong Lee1, Whitney G Cole2, Laura Golenia3
1Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, CA, USA.
Developmental Science
|October 24, 2017
Summary
Studying infant walking during free play offers benefits over simplified straight-path tasks. Spontaneous walking reveals crucial developmental insights without added cost, highlighting infant problem-solving skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Science
- Motor Control
- Biomechanical Analysis
Background:
- Simplifying complex behaviors aids research but may omit crucial details.
- Infant walking development is often studied using simplified, straight-path tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the costs and benefits of simplified versus complex (free play) infant walking tasks.
- To determine if spontaneous walking provides unique insights into motor development.
Main Methods:
- Compared gait measures from instrumented floor data during straight-path and 20-minute free play tasks in 97 infants (10.75-19.99 months).
- Scored video data for steps per bout, path shape, and step direction during free play.
- Analyzed gait measures and developmental progression in both tasks.
Main Results:
- Free play offered significant benefits over the straight-path task with no added cost.
- Straight-path gait measures correlated highly with spontaneous gait and improved with walking age.
- Many free-play walking bouts were short, curved, and omnidirectional, a pattern consistent across development.
Conclusions:
- Spontaneous walking provides valuable insights into the challenges infants overcome while learning to walk.
- Retaining behavioral complexity in developmental research can yield important discoveries.
- The straight-path task is a valid developmental index, but free play captures more nuanced aspects of walking acquisition.
