Action experience alters 3-month-old infants' perception of others' actions

Cognition. 2005 May;96(1):B1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2004.07.004.

Abstract

An intervention facilitated 3-month-old infants' apprehension of objects either prior to (reach first), or after (watch first) viewing another person grasp similar objects in a visual habituation procedure. Action experience facilitated action perception: reach-first infants focused on the relation between the actor and her goal, but watch-first infants did not. Infants' sensitivity to the actor's goal was correlated with their engagement in object-directed contact with the toys. These findings indicate that infants can rapidly form goal-based action representations and suggest a developmental link between infants' goal directed actions and their ability to detect goals in the actions of others.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Attention*
  • Awareness
  • Comprehension
  • Concept Formation
  • Female
  • Goals
  • Habituation, Psychophysiologic
  • Hand Strength
  • Humans
  • Imitative Behavior*
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Orientation
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual*
  • Personal Construct Theory
  • Psychology, Child*
  • Psychomotor Performance*