Object grasping vs. self stimulation: Findings from a cross cultural study

Abstract

This study investigates infants' rates of grasping objects relative to self-stimulation as influenced by physical contact with familiar people, their offering objects to the infant, and the availability of reachable objects. Self-stimulation was expressed by the child's sucking and grasping his own body and by rocking behavior. Ninety-six male infants, aged 2, 4, 7 and 11 months, from urban middle and lower classes, kibbutz, Bedouin and institution environments were observed in their natural surroundings for the equivalent of a complete waking day. From the second half year of life, there is an inverse relationship between rates of object manipulation and self-stimulation. Rates of physical contact with familiar people, rates of objects offered by them, and the availability of reachable objects as observed in the different environments influenced the rates of object manipulation relative to self-stimulation.