Work

Infants' perception of affordances of slopes under high- and low-friction conditions.

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Three experiments investigated whether 14- and 15-month-old infants use information for both friction and slant for prospective control of locomotion down slopes. In Experiment 1, high- and low-friction conditions were interleaved on a range of shallow and steep slopes. In Experiment 2, friction conditions were blocked. In Experiment 3, the low-friction surface was visually distinct from the surrounding high-friction surface. In all three experiments, infants could walk down steeper slopes in the high-friction condition than they could in the low-friction condition. Infants detected affordances for walking down slopes in the high-friction condition, but in the low-friction condition, they attempted impossibly slippery slopes and fell repeatedly. In both friction conditions, when infants paused to explore slopes, they were less likely to attempt slopes beyond their ability. Exploration was elicited by visual information for slant (Experiments 1 and 2) or by a visually distinct surface that marked the change in friction (Experiment 3).

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance

DOI: 10.1037/a0017450

Authors: Karen E. Adolph, Amy S. Joh, Marion A. Eppler

Institutions: New York University, Duke University, East Carolina University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Public Health Service, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: G4296012967, Flexibility of Learning in Infant Skill Acquisition, G828398685