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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
11:18
Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
Published on: June 1, 2015
Opportunities for verb learning: Objects, infant locomotion, and verb input
Kelsey L West1, Ramya Manikkan1, Karen E Adolph2
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.
Child Development
|August 3, 2026
Summary
Objects shape infant actions and caregiver language. This study found that different toys led to varied infant movements and caregiver verb use, with infant actions aligning with caregiver speech.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Motor Development
- Language Acquisition
Background:
- Infants learn through interaction with objects.
- Caregiver input influences infant development.
- The relationship between object play, infant actions, and caregiver language is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if different objects elicit distinct infant actions.
- To determine if caregivers provide contingent verbal input.
- To examine the temporal alignment between infant actions and caregiver verbs.
Main Methods:
- Thirty infant-mother dyads (12-22 months) participated.
- Two play conditions were used: gross-motor toys and fine-motor toys.
- Infant locomotion and caregiver verb use were recorded and analyzed.
Main Results:
- Infant locomotion and caregiver verb use significantly differed between the gross-motor and fine-motor toy conditions.
- Infants' real-time locomotion temporally aligned with their caregivers' verb input.
- Effect sizes were substantial (η2 = .416–.778).
Conclusions:
- Objects used for play demonstrably shape infant actions.
- Caregiver language input is contingent on infant actions during play.
- These findings highlight the dynamic interplay between objects, infant behavior, and caregiver verbal interaction in early development.
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