Action Errors: A Window Into the Early Development of Perception-Action System

In this chapter, we explore an interesting class of behaviors, referred to as action errors, which, we argue, provide a window in to the early development of the perception-action system. As we examine these behaviors, we discuss how acquisition of motor and cognitive skills interact at particular periods of development to make children more likely to perform action errors. However, we also provide evidence that even adults perform action errors under certain task demands. We argue that it is fruitful to examine the developing perception-action system in terms of the dynamic interplay of constraints within the environment, the individual child, and the task that they are attempting to complete. This interaction of constraints is dynamic and multiply determined, which is why action errors do not occur whenever a child sees a photograph of an object, views a tiny chair, or interacts with grandparents over interactive media. We argue, however, that not all constraints are weighted equally in the emergence of a specific behavior. Rather, the child's goal or intention plays a key role in organizing factors that lead to a specific behavior.