Learning about tools in infancy.

Full Abstract

These experiments explored the role of prior experience in 12- to 18-month-old infants' tool-directed actions. In Experiment 1, infants' use of a familiar tool (spoon) to accomplish a novel task (turning on lights inside a box) was examined. Infants tended to grasp the spoon by its handle even when doing so made solving the task impossible (the bowl did not fit through the hole in the box, but the handle did) and even though the experimenter demonstrated a bowl-grasp. In contrast, infants used a novel tool flexibly and grasped both sides equally often. In Experiment 2, infants received training using the novel tool for a particular function; 3 groups of infants were trained to use the tool differently. Later, infants' performance was facilitated on tasks that required infants to grasp the part of the tool they were trained to grasp. The results suggest that (a) infants' prior experiences with tools are important to understanding subsequent tool use, and (b) rather than learning about tool function (e.g., hammering), infants learn about which part of the tool is meant to be held, at least early in their exposure to a novel tool.

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Author information

Author/s: Barrett, Tracy M (TM); Davis, Evan F (EF); Needham, Amy (A);

Affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0086, USA.

Grants: HD32129 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; HD37049 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Developmental psychology (Dev Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 43 (issue 2) : pp 352-68

Dates: Created 2007/03/13; Completed 2007/05/08; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 17352544, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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