Goal anticipation during action observation is influenced by synonymous action capabilities, a puzzling developmental study

Abstract

Eighteen- and 25-month-old human toddlers' ability to manually solve a puzzle and their ability to anticipate the goal during observation of similar actions were investigated. Results demonstrate that goal anticipation during action observation is dependent on manual ability, both on a group level (only 25-month-olds solved the manual task and anticipated the goal during observation) and individually within the older age group (r (xy) = 0.53). These findings suggests a connection between manual ability and the ability to anticipate the goal of others' actions in toddlers, in accordance with the direct matching hypothesis.