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Franchak JM, Adolph KE. An update of the development of motor behavior. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2024:e1682. [PMID: 38831670 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
This primer describes research on the development of motor behavior. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired-posture, locomotion, manual actions, and facial actions-and we adopt a developmental systems perspective to understand the causes and consequences of developmental change. Experience facilitates improvements in motor behavior and infants accumulate immense amounts of varied everyday experience with all the basic action systems. At every point in development, perception guides behavior by providing feedback about the results of just prior movements and information about what to do next. Across development, new motor behaviors provide new inputs for perception. Thus, motor development opens up new opportunities for acquiring knowledge and acting on the world, instigating cascades of developmental changes in perceptual, cognitive, and social domains. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance Neuroscience > Development.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Franchak
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Karen E Adolph
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, USA
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2
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Schubotz RI, Ebel SJ, Elsner B, Weiss PH, Wörgötter F. Tool mastering today - an interdisciplinary perspective. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1191792. [PMID: 37397285 PMCID: PMC10311916 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1191792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Tools have coined human life, living conditions, and culture. Recognizing the cognitive architecture underlying tool use would allow us to comprehend its evolution, development, and physiological basis. However, the cognitive underpinnings of tool mastering remain little understood in spite of long-time research in neuroscientific, psychological, behavioral and technological fields. Moreover, the recent transition of tool use to the digital domain poses new challenges for explaining the underlying processes. In this interdisciplinary review, we propose three building blocks of tool mastering: (A) perceptual and motor abilities integrate to tool manipulation knowledge, (B) perceptual and cognitive abilities to functional tool knowledge, and (C) motor and cognitive abilities to means-end knowledge about tool use. This framework allows for integrating and structuring research findings and theoretical assumptions regarding the functional architecture of tool mastering via behavior in humans and non-human primates, brain networks, as well as computational and robotic models. An interdisciplinary perspective also helps to identify open questions and to inspire innovative research approaches. The framework can be applied to studies on the transition from classical to modern, non-mechanical tools and from analogue to digital user-tool interactions in virtual reality, which come with increased functional opacity and sensorimotor decoupling between tool user, tool, and target. By working towards an integrative theory on the cognitive architecture of the use of tools and technological assistants, this review aims at stimulating future interdisciplinary research avenues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricarda I. Schubotz
- Department of Biological Psychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Sonja J. Ebel
- Human Biology & Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Birgit Elsner
- Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Peter H. Weiss
- Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Florentin Wörgötter
- Inst. of Physics 3 and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Marullo S, Pozzi M, Malvezzi M, Prattichizzo D. Analysis of postures for handwriting on touch screens without using tools. Sci Rep 2022; 12:296. [PMID: 34997155 PMCID: PMC8741930 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04367-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The act of handwriting affected the evolutionary development of humans and still impacts the motor cognition of individuals. However, the ubiquitous use of digital technologies has drastically decreased the number of times we really need to pick a pen up and write on paper. Nonetheless, the positive cognitive impact of handwriting is widely recognized, and a possible way to merge the benefits of handwriting and digital writing is to use suitable tools to write over touchscreens or graphics tablets. In this manuscript, we focus on the possibility of using the hand itself as a writing tool. A novel hand posture named FingerPen is introduced, and can be seen as a grasp performed by the hand on the index finger. A comparison with the most common posture that people tend to assume (i.e. index finger-only exploitation) is carried out by means of a biomechanical model. A conducted user study shows that the FingerPen is appreciated by users and leads to accurate writing traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Marullo
- Department of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy.
| | - Maria Pozzi
- Department of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Monica Malvezzi
- Department of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy
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Mangalam M, Fragaszy DM, Wagman JB, Day BM, Kelty-Stephen DG, Bongers RM, Stout DW, Osiurak F. On the psychological origins of tool use. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104521. [PMID: 34998834 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquity of tool use in human life has generated multiple lines of scientific and philosophical investigation to understand the development and expression of humans' engagement with tools and its relation to other dimensions of human experience. However, existing literature on tool use faces several epistemological challenges in which the same set of questions generate many different answers. At least four critical questions can be identified, which are intimately intertwined-(1) What constitutes tool use? (2) What psychological processes underlie tool use in humans and nonhuman animals? (3) Which of these psychological processes are exclusive to tool use? (4) Which psychological processes involved in tool use are exclusive to Homo sapiens? To help advance a multidisciplinary scientific understanding of tool use, six author groups representing different academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, psychology, neuroscience) and different theoretical perspectives respond to each of these questions, and then point to the direction of future work on tool use. We find that while there are marked differences among the responses of the respective author groups to each question, there is a surprising degree of agreement about many essential concepts and questions. We believe that this interdisciplinary and intertheoretical discussion will foster a more comprehensive understanding of tool use than any one of these perspectives (or any one of these author groups) would (or could) on their own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhur Mangalam
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
| | | | - Jeffrey B Wagman
- Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Brian M Day
- Department of Psychology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | | | - Raoul M Bongers
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Dietrich W Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon 69361, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris 75231, France
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van den Berg L, Gredebäck G. The sticky mittens paradigm: A critical appraisal of current results and explanations. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13036. [PMID: 32931065 PMCID: PMC8518992 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Almost two decades ago, the sticky mittens paradigm was demonstrated as a way to train reaching and grasping behaviors in pre‐reaching infants, and consequently improve visual attentional abilities. In that first study, Needham and colleagues fitted 3‐month‐old infants with Velcro loop‐covered mittens and allowed them to interact with Velcro hook‐covered toys over the course of 2 weeks. In this review, we scrutinize the 17 studies that have followed those first sticky mittens results in regards to the motor, social perception, and visual attentional domains. Furthermore, we discuss the proposed mechanisms of the sticky mittens training. Current evidence strongly suggests that sticky mittens training facilitates social perception, which is consistent with prior correlational work showing links between action production and action perception. However, studies targeting motor and visual attentional abilities have too diverse results to warrant firm conclusions. We conclude that future research should focus on uncovering if there is a connection between sticky mittens training and motor behavior.
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Kaur GD. Situated and distributed cognition in artifact negotiation and trade-specific skills: A cognitive ethnography of Kashmiri carpet weaving practice. THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0959354318769155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This article describes various ways actors in Kashmiri carpet weaving practice deploy a range of artifacts, from symbolic, to material, to hybrid, in order to achieve diverse cognitive accomplishments in their particular task domains: information representation, inter and intra-domain communication, distribution of cognitive labor across people and time, coordination of team activities, and carrying of cultural heritage. In this repertoire, some artifacts position themselves as naïve tools in the actors’ environment to the point of being ignored; however, their usage-in-context unfolds their cognitive involvement in the tasks. These usages-in-context are shown through artifact analysis of their routine, improvised, and opportunistic uses, where cognitive artifacts like talim—the central artifact of this practice—are shown to play not only multifunctional roles beyond representation, but are also complemented by trade-specific skills bearing strong cognitive implications in a task.
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Lockman JJ, Fears NE, Jung WP. The Development of Object Fitting: The Dynamics of Spatial Coordination. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2018; 55:31-72. [PMID: 30031438 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Fitting objects into apertures is an adaptive skill that is incorporated into the design of many tools. We match or align shapes with openings when we insert keys into locks, when we put lids atop containers, or when we align a screwdriver with the groove of a screw. Traditionally, the development of object fitting has focused on children's abilities to successfully complete shape sorter tasks (e.g., square peg through square hole). By measuring children's success in these tasks, investigators have determined that there is substantial development during the second year, but little research has addressed the processes children employ to solve object fitting challenges during this time period. Here, we provide a process based account of object fitting, which emphasizes how children coordinate information about spatial structure with action. We suggest that a process-based approach can illuminate the real-time dynamics of perceiving, acting, and thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey J Lockman
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Nicholas E Fears
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Wendy P Jung
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
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Golenia L, Schoemaker MM, Otten E, Mouton LJ, Bongers RM. What the Dynamic Systems Approach Can Offer for Understanding Development: An Example of Mid-childhood Reaching. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1774. [PMID: 29066996 PMCID: PMC5641353 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The Dynamic Systems Approach (DSA) to development has been shown to be a promising theory to understand developmental changes. In this perspective, we use the example of mid-childhood (6- to 10-years of age) reaching to show how using the DSA can advance the understanding of development. Mid-childhood is an important developmental period that has often been overshadowed by the focus on the acquisition of reaching during infancy. This underrepresentation of mid-childhood studies is unjustified, as earlier studies showed that important developmental changes in mid-childhood reaching occur that refine the skill of reaching. We review these studies here for the first time and show that different studies revealed different developmental trends, such as non-monotonic and linear trends, for variables such as movement time and accuracy at target. Unfortunately, proposed explanations for these developmental changes have been tailored to individual studies, limiting their scope. Also, explanations were focused on a single component or process in the system that supposedly causes developmental changes. Here, we propose that the DSA can offer an overarching explanation for developmental changes in this research field. According to the DSA, motor behavior emerges from interactions of multiple components entailed by the person, environment, and task. Changes in all these components can potentially contribute to the emerging behavior. We show how the principles of change of the DSA can be used as an overarching framework by applying these principles not only to development, but also the behavior itself. This underlines its applicability to other fields of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Golenia
- Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Marina M Schoemaker
- Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Egbert Otten
- Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Leonora J Mouton
- Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Raoul M Bongers
- Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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Lancy DF. Homo Faber Juvenalis: A Multidisciplinary Survey of Children as Tool Makers/Users. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/17585716.2017.1316010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Adolph KE, Franchak JM. The development of motor behavior. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2017; 8:10.1002/wcs.1430. [PMID: 27906517 PMCID: PMC5182199 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2016] [Revised: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews research on the development of motor behavior from a developmental systems perspective. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired. Posture provides a stable base for locomotion, manual actions, and facial actions. Experience facilitates improvements in motor behavior and infants accumulate immense amounts of experience with all of their basic action systems. At every point in development, perception guides motor behavior by providing feedback about the results of just prior movements and information about what to do next. Reciprocally, the development of motor behavior provides fodder for perception. More generally, motor development brings about new opportunities for acquiring knowledge about the world, and burgeoning motor skills can instigate cascades of developmental changes in perceptual, cognitive, and social domains. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1430. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1430 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Adolph
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - John M Franchak
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
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Remigereau C, Roy A, Costini O, Osiurak F, Jarry C, Le Gall D. Involvement of Technical Reasoning More Than Functional Knowledge in Development of Tool Use in Childhood. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1625. [PMID: 27877141 PMCID: PMC5099152 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well-known that even toddlers are able to manipulate tools in an appropriate manner according to their physical properties. The ability of children to make novel tools in order to solve problems is, however, surprisingly limited. In adults, mechanical problem solving (MPS) has been proposed to be supported by "technical reasoning skills," which are thought to be involved in every situation requiring the use of a tool (whether conventional or unusual). The aim of this study was to investigate the typical development of real tool use (RTU) skills and its link with technical reasoning abilities in healthy children. Three experimental tasks were adapted from those used with adults: MPS (three different apparatus), RTU (10 familiar tool-object pairs), and functional knowledge (FK; 10 functional picture matching with familiar tools previously used). The tasks were administered to 85 healthy children divided into six age groups (from 6 to 14 years of age). The results revealed that RTU (p = 0.01) and MPS skills improve with age, even if this improvement differs according to the apparatus for the latter (p < 0.01 for the Hook task and p < 0.05 for the Sloping task). Results also showed that MPS is a better predictor of RTU than FK, with a significant and greater weight (importance weight: 0.65; Estimate ± Standard Error: 0.27 ± 0.08). Ours findings suggest that RTU and technical reasoning develop jointly in children, independently from development of FK. In addition, technical reasoning appears partially operative from the age of six onward, even though the outcome of these skills depends of the context in which they are applied (i.e., the type of apparatus).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrystelle Remigereau
- Department of Psychology, Psychology Laboratory, LUNAM, University of AngersAngers, France; Reference Center for Learning Disabilities, Nantes University HospitalNantes, France
| | - Arnaud Roy
- Department of Psychology, Psychology Laboratory, LUNAM, University of AngersAngers, France; Reference Center for Learning Disabilities, Nantes University HospitalNantes, France; Neurofibromatosis Clinic, Nantes University HospitalNantes, France
| | - Orianne Costini
- CNRS UMR 8158, Psychology Laboratory of PerceptionParis, France; Neurology Service, Rothschild Ophthalmological FoundationParis, France
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratory for the Study of Cognitive Mechanisms, University of LyonLyon, France; University Institute of FranceParis, France
| | - Christophe Jarry
- Department of Psychology, Psychology Laboratory, LUNAM, University of Angers Angers, France
| | - Didier Le Gall
- Department of Psychology, Psychology Laboratory, LUNAM, University of AngersAngers, France; Department of Neurology, Angers University HospitalAngers, France
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Body maps in the infant brain. Trends Cogn Sci 2015; 19:499-505. [PMID: 26231760 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have examined representations of the body in the adult brain but relatively little attention has been paid to ontogenetic aspects of neural body maps in human infants. Novel applications of methods for recording brain activity in infants are delineating cortical body maps in the first months of life. Body maps may facilitate infants' registration of similarities between self and other - an ability that is foundational to developing social cognition. Alterations in interpersonal aspects of body representations might also contribute to social deficits in certain neurodevelopmental disorders.
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