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Gönül G, Kammermeier M, Paulus M. What is in an action? Preschool children predict that agents take previous paths and not previous goals. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13466. [PMID: 38054272 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Developmental science has experienced a vivid debate on whether young children prioritize goals over means in their prediction of others' actions. Influential developmental theories highlight the role of goal objects for action understanding. Yet, recent infant studies report evidence for the opposite. The empirical evidence is therefore inconclusive. The current study advanced this debate by assessing preschool children's verbal predictions of others' actions. In five experiments (N = 302), we investigated whether preschool children and adults predict agents to move towards their previous goal (that is, show goal-related predictions) or predict agents to move along the same movement path that they pursued before. While Experiments 1a, 1b and 1c presented young children and adults with animated agents, Experiments 2a and 2b presented participants with human grasping action. An integrative analysis across experiments revealed that children were more likely to predict the agent to move along the same movement path, Z = -4.574, p ≤ 0.0001 (r = 0.304). That is, preschool children were more likely to predict that agents would move along the same trajectory even though this action would lead to a new goal object. Thus, our findings suggest that young children's action prediction relies on the detection of spatial and movement information. Overall, we discuss our findings in terms of theoretical frameworks that conceive of action understanding as an umbrella term that comprises different forms and facets in which humans understand others' actions. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated whether preschool children predict agents to move towards their previous goal or to move along the same movement path that they pursued before. Unlike adults, preschool children predicted that agents would move along the same trajectory even though this action would lead to a new goal. Adults' goal-based predictions were affected from contextual details, whereas children systematically made path-based predictions. Young children's action prediction relies on the detection of spatial and movement information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gökhan Gönül
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Marina Kammermeier
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Paulus
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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2
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Thorsson M, Galazka MA, Johnson M, Åsberg Johnels J, Hadjikhani N. Visuomotor tracking strategies in children: associations with neurodevelopmental symptoms. Exp Brain Res 2024; 242:337-353. [PMID: 38078961 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06752-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) often display motor problems that may impact their daily lives. Studying specific motor characteristics related to spatiotemporal control may inform us about the mechanisms underlying their challenges. Fifty-eight children with varying neurodevelopmental symptoms load (median age: 5.6 years, range: 2.7-12.5 years) performed an interactive tablet-based tracking task. By investigating digit touch errors relative to the target's movement direction, we found that a load of neurodevelopmental symptoms was associated with reduced performance in the tracking of abrupt alternating directions (zigzag) and overshooting the target. In contrast, reduced performance in children without neurodevelopmental symptoms was associated with lagging behind the target. Neurodevelopmental symptom load was also associated with reduced flexibility in correcting for lateral deviations in smooth tracking (spiral). Our findings suggest that neurodevelopmental symptoms are associated with difficulties in motor regulation related to inhibitory control and reduced flexibility, impacting motor control in NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Thorsson
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Martyna A Galazka
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Division of Cognition and Communication, Department of Applied Information Technology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Mats Johnson
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jakob Åsberg Johnels
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Section of Speech and Language Pathology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nouchine Hadjikhani
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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Abney DH, Jerry CM, Smith LB, Yu C. Look before you reach: Fixation-reach latencies predict reaching kinematics in toddlers. INFANCY 2024; 29:6-21. [PMID: 37950814 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
Research on infant and toddler reaching has shown evidence for motor planning after the initiation of the reaching action. However, the reach action sequence does not begin after the initiation of a reach but rather includes the initial visual fixations onto the target object occurring before the reach. We developed a paradigm that synchronizes head-mounted eye-tracking and motion capture to determine whether the latency between the first visual fixation on a target object and the first reaching movement toward the object predicts subsequent reaching behavior in toddlers. In a corpus of over one hundred reach sequences produced by 17 toddlers, we found that longer fixation-reach latencies during the pre-reach phase predicted slower reaches. If the slowness of an executed reach indicates reach difficulty, then the duration of pre-reach planning would be correlated with reach difficulty. However, no relation was found with pre-reach planning duration when reach difficulty was measured by usual factors and independent of reach duration. The findings raise important questions about the measurement of reach difficulty, models of motor control, and possible developmental changes in the relations between pre-planning and continuously unfolding motor plans throughout an action sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew H Abney
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Christian M Jerry
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Linda B Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Chen Yu
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA
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Addabbo M, Roberti E, Colombo L, Picciolini O, Turati C. Newborns' early attuning to hand-to-mouth coordinated actions. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13162. [PMID: 34291540 PMCID: PMC9286559 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Already inside the womb, fetuses frequently bring their hands to the mouth, anticipating hand‐to‐mouth contact by opening the mouth. Here, we explored whether 2‐day‐old newborns discriminate between hand actions directed towards different targets of the face—that is, a thumb that reaches the mouth and a thumb that reaches the chin. Newborns looked longer towards the thumb‐to‐mouth compared to the thumb‐to‐chin action only in the presence, and not absence, of anticipatory mouth opening movements, preceding the thumb arrival. Overall, our results show that newborns are sensitive to hand‐to‐face coordinated actions, being capable to discriminate between body‐related actions directed towards different targets of the face, but only when a salient visual cue that anticipates the target of the action is present. The role of newborns’ sensorimotor experience with hand‐to‐mouth gestures in driving this capacity is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Roberti
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Colombo
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Odoardo Picciolini
- Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
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Monroy C, Chen CH, Houston D, Yu C. Action prediction during real-time parent-infant interactions. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13042. [PMID: 33030770 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions provide a crucial context for early learning and cognitive development during infancy. Action prediction-the ability to anticipate an observed action-facilitates successful, coordinated interaction and is an important social-cognitive skill in early development. However, current knowledge about infant action prediction comes largely from screen-based laboratory tasks. We know little about what infants' action prediction skills look like during real-time, free-flowing interactions with a social partner. In the current study, we used head-mounted eyetracking to quantify 9-month-old infants' visual anticipations of their parents' actions during free-flowing parent-child play. Our findings reveal that infants do anticipate their parents' actions during dynamic interactions at rates significantly higher than would be expected by chance. In addition, the frequency with which they do so is associated with child-led joint attention and hand-eye coordination. These findings are the first to reveal infants' action prediction behaviors in a more naturalistic context than prior screen-based studies, and they support the idea that action prediction is inherently linked to motor development and plays an important role in infants' social-cognitive development. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HrmcicfiqE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Monroy
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Chi-Hsin Chen
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Derek Houston
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.,Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Chen Yu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Juvrud J, Gredebäck G. The teleological stance: Past, present, and future. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12970. [PMID: 32304172 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We review the support for, and criticisms of, the teleological stance theory, often described as a foundation for goal-directed action understanding early in life. A major point of contention in the literature has been how teleological processes and assumptions of rationality are represented and understood in infancy, and this debate has been largely centered on three paradigms. Visual habituation studies assess infant's abilities to retrospectively assess teleological processes; the presence of such processes is supported by the literature. Rational imitation is a phenomenon that has been questioned both theoretically and empirically, and there is currently little support for this concept in the literature. The involvement of teleological processes in action prediction is unclear. To date, the ontology of teleological processes remains unspecified. To remedy this, we present a new action-based theory of teleological processes (here referred to as the embodied account of teleological processes), based on the development of goal-directed reaching with its origin during the fetal period and continuous development over the first few months of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Juvrud
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gustaf Gredebäck
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Addabbo M, Vacaru SV, Meyer M, Hunnius S. 'Something in the way you move': Infants are sensitive to emotions conveyed in action kinematics. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12873. [PMID: 31144771 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Body movements, as well as faces, communicate emotions. Research in adults has shown that the perception of action kinematics has a crucial role in understanding others' emotional experiences. Still, little is known about infants' sensitivity to body emotional expressions, since most of the research in infancy focused on faces. While there is some first evidence that infants can recognize emotions conveyed in whole-body postures, it is still an open question whether they can extract emotional information from action kinematics. We measured electromyographic (EMG) activity over the muscles involved in happy (zygomaticus major, ZM), angry (corrugator supercilii, CS) and fearful (frontalis, F) facial expressions, while 11-month-old infants observed the same action performed with either happy or angry kinematics. Results demonstrate that infants responded to angry and happy kinematics with matching facial reactions. In particular, ZM activity increased while CS activity decreased in response to happy kinematics and vice versa for angry kinematics. Our results show for the first time that infants can rely on kinematic information to pick up on the emotional content of an action. Thus, from very early in life, action kinematics represent a fundamental and powerful source of information in revealing others' emotional state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Stefania V Vacaru
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radbound University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marlene Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Sabine Hunnius
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radbound University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Ritterband-Rosenbaum A, Justiniano MD, Nielsen JB, Christensen MS. Are sensorimotor experiences the key for successful early intervention in infants with congenital brain lesion? Infant Behav Dev 2019; 54:133-139. [PMID: 30769300 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Living with a congenital brain lesion may have detrimental effects on the ability to do everyday activities, but contrary to acquired brain lesions, people and in particular children, with congenital brain lesions may have limited or no experience of how their bodies work. This absence of experience gives rise to challenges for habilitation of sensorimotor abilities and derived cognitive abilities. How can motor and cognitive abilities be achieved and trained in an individual with no experience of potential abilities? In this article, we aim to review the existing knowledge about the development of sensorimotor integration. Further, we will discuss this knowledge in the light of two neurocognitive theories: embodied cognition and predictive coding. Moreover, using developmental knowledge and theory in combination, we will argue that early sensorimotor development serves as a foundation for later cognitive development. Finally, we try to use these elements in a strategy to make interventions as early as possible, with the purpose of improving sensorimotor and cognitive abilities in children with congenital brain lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anina Ritterband-Rosenbaum
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Elsass Institute, Elsass Foundation, Charlottenlund, Denmark.
| | - Mikkel Damgaard Justiniano
- Elsass Institute, Elsass Foundation, Charlottenlund, Denmark; DTU Compute, Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jens Bo Nielsen
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Elsass Institute, Elsass Foundation, Charlottenlund, Denmark
| | - Mark Schram Christensen
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; DTU Compute, Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Gredebäck G, Lindskog M, Juvrud JC, Green D, Marciszko C. Action Prediction Allows Hypothesis Testing via Internal Forward Models at 6 Months of Age. Front Psychol 2018; 9:290. [PMID: 29593600 PMCID: PMC5857586 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
We propose that action prediction provides a cornerstone in a learning process known as internal forward models. According to this suggestion infants' predictions (looking to the mouth of someone moving a spoon upward) will moments later be validated or proven false (spoon was in fact directed toward a bowl), information that is directly perceived as the distance between the predicted and actual goal. Using an individual difference approach we demonstrate that action prediction correlates with the tendency to react with surprise when social interactions are not acted out as expected (action evaluation). This association is demonstrated across tasks and in a large sample (n = 118) at 6 months of age. These results provide the first indication that infants might rely on internal forward models to structure their social world. Additional analysis, consistent with prior work and assumptions from embodied cognition, demonstrates that the latency of infants' action predictions correlate with the infant's own manual proficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcus Lindskog
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joshua C Juvrud
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Dorota Green
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carin Marciszko
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Koch B, Stapel J. The role of head and hand movements for infants' predictions of others' actions. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2017; 83:1269-1280. [PMID: 29270673 PMCID: PMC6647114 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-017-0939-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In everyday life, both the head and the hand movements of another person reveal the other’s action target. However, studies on the development of action prediction have primarily included displays in which only hand and no head movements were visible. Given that infants acquire in their first year both the ability to follow other’s gaze and the ability to predict other’s reaching actions, the question is whether they rely mostly on the hand or the head when predicting other’s manual actions. The current study aimed to provide an answer to this question using a screen-based eye tracking setup. Thirteen-month-old infants observed a model transporting plastic rings from one side of the screen to the other side and place them on a pole. In randomized trials the model’s head was either visible or occluded. The dependent variable was gaze-arrival time, which indicated whether participants predicted the model’s action targets. Gaze-arrival times were not found to be different when the head was visible or rendered invisible. Furthermore, target looks that occurred after looks at the hand were found to be predictive, whereas target looks that occurred after looks at the head were reactive. In sum, the study shows that 13-month-olds are capable of predicting an individual’s action target based on the observed hand movements but not the head movements. The data suggest that earlier findings on infants’ action prediction in screen-based tasks in which often only the hands were visible may well generalize to real-life settings in which infants have visual access to the actor’s head.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Koch
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Box 1225, 751 42, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Janny Stapel
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Box 1225, 751 42, Uppsala, Sweden
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