Motor constraints on infant search: The impact of reaching around a barrier on search performance

This study investigated the impact of perceptual-motor context on a classic paradigm used to assess cognitive-spatial reasoning. Specifically, this project explored the effect on search behavior of reaching around a barrier versus not reaching around a barrier during the A portion in the B phase of the well-known A-not-B task. In examining 8- and 16-month-old infants, this study found that both age groups demonstrated poorer performance on A trials when needing to reach around a barrier than when there was no barrier present. More interestingly, for the younger infants, needing to reach around a barrier on A trials led to better performance on B trials relative to infants who did not reach around a barrier. Older infants, however, showed no difference in B trial performance. These results demonstrate that inducing constraints on reaching (e.g., reaching around a barrier) has a significant impact on search behavior, a finding that theoretically fits with a literature demonstrating a fundamental role in behavior of perceptual and motor influences in A-not-B behavior.