Motor Transitions in Infancy

描述(由申请者提供)：本提案中提出的问题代表了一种新的思考婴儿期运动过渡的方式。这些实验没有关注婴儿如何处理开始接触到的复杂的身体任务，而是探索了为什么他们会这样做：是什么诱使婴儿首先对物体采取行动？我考察了三种可能的动机来源：目标驱动、他人驱动和自我驱动。实验调查了这三个来源的影响，并进一步研究了自我驱动因素的作用，假设婴儿自己对对象(首先是意外产生的，后来是故意产生的)的反馈对于在适当的时间过渡到到达至关重要。这种反馈是强化的，有助于吸引婴儿与物体进行更多的互动。测试这一模型需要使用粘性手套，这是P.I.发明的一种设备，用于研究婴儿时期伸展到伸展的转变。总体而言，这一建议在运动发育研究方面开辟了新的天地，并为研究人员提供了一个新的视角，通过它可以了解婴儿时期的运动过渡。它还将提供明确的干预计划，帮助视力或运动障碍的婴儿比其他情况下更早开始接触物体。与公共健康相关：这项拟议的研究通过测试三种可能的想法来调查婴儿为什么开始接触物体：婴儿对物体好奇，他们想要模仿别人，和/或他们从自己行为的后果中学习。如果我们了解了是什么驱使发育正常的婴儿伸手去拿东西，我们就可以设计干预措施，帮助非典型发育的婴儿比其他情况下更早开始伸手。婴儿越早开始对自己的物体感兴趣并开始接触物体，他们就能更多地了解物理世界。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The questions asked in this proposal represent a new way of thinking about motor transitions in infancy. Rather than focusing on how infants navigate the complicated physical tasks inherent to beginning to reach, these experiments explore why they do so: what entices infants to act on objects in the first place? I examine three possible sources of motivation: Object-driven, Other-driven, and Self-driven. Experiments investigate the influence of all three sources and go on to further investigate the role of self-driven factors, hypothesizing that feedback from infants' own actions on objects (first those produced accidentally, later those produced intentionally) is critically important for making the transition into reaching at the appropriate time. This feedback is reinforcing and helps draw infants into more interactions with objects. Testing this model involves the use of sticky mittens, a device invented by the P.I. to study the transition into reaching during infancy. Overall, this proposal breaks new ground in motor development research and offers a new lens through which researchers can understand motor transitions in infancy. It also will provide clear-cut plans for interventions that could help infants with visual or motor impairments begin reaching for objects earlier than they would otherwise. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research investigates the question of why infants begin reaching for objects by testing three possible ideas: infants are curious about objects, they want to imitate other people, and/or they learn from the consequences of their own actions. If we understand what motivates typically developing infants to reach for objects, we can design interventions to help atypically developing infants begin to reach earlier than they would otherwise. The earlier infants become interested in and begin reaching for objects on their own, the more they can learn about the physical world.