Task 6 Flashcards
How do infants learn to reach according to the Dynamic Systems Approach theory?
- DNS states that the infants’ subsystems (e.g. different organs/muscles) develop asynchronously, are dependent on one another & are self-organizing. A new motor movement occurs when there is instability which forces a new organization.
- DNS outlines several prerequisites of motor development, and emphasizes on motivation. Motivation emerges from four biases that are linked to the infants’ sensorimotor systems (vision, tactile, oral).
What are the 9 prerequisites of reaching behaviours according to DNS theory?
- motivation
- visual capacity
- determine which objects are reachable
- transform coordinates of objects from external to internal
- plan movements
- correct movements
- good muscle control
- stability of head and neck trunks
- remember actions
How do reaching behaviours develop according to Piaget?
Piaget asserts that new motor movements occur through the modification (accommodation) of the infants’ schemas (e.g. existing motor movement).
What is perseveration?
Perseveration is the infants’ inability to inhibit prepotent responses in the A-not-B task.
At what age do infants show perseveration?
It is observed as early as 5 months but generally appears at 8 months.
What is the link between infant motor development and their understanding of goal-directed actions in others?
- infants assume that the goal-directed actions of others are the same as their own goal-directed actions.
- Active engagement is important in their understanding rather than observing (e.g. candy cane experiment).
- Infants use higher order goals and infer intentional relations in their predictions of others goal-directed actions.
What does perseveration indicate?
- Perseveration is a sign of developmental achievement on the path to stable and flexible behavior
- infants must achieve a certain level of stability before perseveration can emerge
- when no strong motor memory can be formed: no perseverance
What are some evidence that infants understand the goal-directed actions in others?
- At 10 months old, infants who are skilled in producing action that is a means to an end are able to recover the higher order goal of someone else’s means-end actions, but those are less skilled cannot.
- Motor experiences of infants causes changes in their understanding of others’ goals
- 8 to 10 month old infants who have practiced using a cane to attain their goal interpret the actions of others in cane tasks as goal-driven
- 3-6 months olds have longer looking times at events that disrupt the original relationship between an agent and her goal (e.g. grasping a ball).
- 9-12 months= actions that relate agents to objects at a distance or indirect (e.g. pointing), reaching over obstacles, or using tools to obtain object.
- There are differential brain responses when infants view goal-directed actions compared to non goal-directed actions.
- Neural and cognitive systems that are involved in action control are also the ones those that support the perceptions and understandings of other actions
How does the parallel distribution theory explain perseveration in infants?
It is based on the competition between latent and active memory. Latent memory builds as a consequence of history of active traces.
Latent memory refers to the subconsious retention of information without any reinforcements, while active memory is a conscious type of memory (e.g. holding in mind).
So infants succeed on the location A trials for two reasons: first there is no competing active traces (i.e. a second location that would require them to hold in mind while they make their decision), secondly because their response is influenced by their subconscious memory (i.e. observing the experimenter hidde at location A).
Active memory is described as weak in infants. This is because of the immaturity of the PFC that is responsible for working memory, so naturally they cannot inhibit their subconscious memory, nor can they hold in mind the location B for long enough to influence their response.
What is latent memory?
Subconscious retention of information without reinforcement. Behaviour is only changed if there is motivation.
What is active memory?
Memory that is the focus of consciousness - e.g. working memory
Why is active memory weak in infants?
Because of the immaturity of the PFC
How does the latent memory build?
Its development is mediated by active traces. If there are no active traces then it is more likely to build and become stronger.
How does the dynamic fields theory explain perseveration?
Competition between visual (faster) memories and motor memories (slower). Strong motor memories lead to perseveration.
Describe the cane pulling study
Hey, that’s fine.
From what I understood, they had 3 conditions:
1. Baseline who only viewed the habituation event
2. Active training: received active training + habituation
3. Observation session: watched the cane pulling event + habituation
In the active training the infants used a cane (there was one red and one green) to pull a duck & hippopotamus toy that was placed out of their reach.
The observation group watched an adult performing these actions.
In the habituation phase all groups watched an adult reach, grasp one of the canes and then use it to pull one of the toys towards her.
During the test phase infants watched a new toy being pulled by the same cane used in the habituation trial. And then watched a new cane being used to pull the same toy used in the habituation trial. They looked at looking times.
Infants who received the active training looked longer when there was a new toy. So they concluded that this means that infants can understand goal-directed behaviours in others
