Children's Visual Processing of Egocentric Cues in Action Planning for Reach

Abstract

In this study the authors examined children's ability to code visual information into an egocentric frame of reference for planning reach movements. Children and adults estimated reach distance via motor imagery in immediate and response-delay conditions. Actual maximum reach was compared to estimates in multiple locations in peripersonal and extrapersonal space. Analysis of variance results for total accuracy indicated no group difference in the no-delay condition; however, delay differences emerged. Concerning the direction of error, results indicated that as delay increased, children as a whole overestimated more than adults did. These findings suggest that younger children may have more difficulty planning memory-guided tasks.