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Published on: October 5, 2018
Prospective control in catching by infants
A L van der Meer1, F R van der Weel, D N Lee
1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Insights
Infants as young as 11 months can predictively reach for moving objects, using visual cues to time their actions. Hand movements develop predictive capabilities later, enabling successful catching of faster objects.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Infant Motor Skills
Background:
- Predictive abilities are crucial for intercepting moving objects.
- Understanding infant predictive capabilities informs developmental theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if infants use visual information predictively when reaching for moving objects.
- To examine the developmental trajectory of predictive reaching in infants.
Main Methods:
- Observing reaching behaviors in 11-month-old infants interacting with a moving, occluded toy.
- Conducting a longitudinal study on two infants from 20 to 48 weeks of age.
- Analyzing gaze and hand movements in relation to toy trajectory and reappearance time.
Main Results:
- Infants' gaze anticipated toy reappearance even when the toy was occluded.
- Hand movements were prospectively timed to the toy's predicted reappearance.
- Predictive hand movements and time-based anticipation developed later, correlating with successful catching of faster toys.
Conclusions:
- Infants demonstrate early predictive gaze control for moving objects.
- Prospective hand-motor control and time-based anticipation develop later in infancy.
- These developments are critical for mastering the dynamic skill of catching.
Abstract:
Catching a moving object requires the ability to predict the future trajectory of the object. To test whether infants can use visual information predictively, reaching for a toy moving at different speeds was investigated in six infants around 11 months of age. The toy was occluded from view by a screen during the last part of its approach. Gaze arrived at the exit side of the screen and the hand started to move forward before the toy had disappeared behind the occluder; these actions were prospectively geared to certain times before the toy would reappear. In addition, hand-movement duration was found to be related to the time of reappearance of the toy--the information used to regulate duration of hand movement being picked up before the toy disappeared behind the occluder. In a longitudinal experiment, the development of predictive reaching was investigated in two infants between the ages of 20 and 48 weeks. At all ages studied, gaze anticipated the reappearance of the moving toy. However, anticipation with hand movement of the disappearance of the toy and the ability to gear actions prospectively to the time (instead of distance) the toy was away from certain points on the track developed relatively late and marked the transition to successfully catching faster-moving toys.
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