Abstract
Human adults process and select the opportunities for action in their environment rapidly, efficiently, and effortlessly. While several studies have revealed substantial improvements in object recognition skills, motor abilities, and control over the motor system during late childhood, surprisingly little is known about how object processing for action develops during this period. This study addresses this issue by investigating how the ability to ignore actions potentiated by a familiar utensil develops between ages 6 and 10 years. It is the first study to demonstrate that (1) the mechanisms that transform a graspable visual stimulus into an object-appropriate motor response are in place by the sixth year of life and (2) graspable features of an object can facilitate and interfere with manual responses in an adult-like manner by this age. The results suggest that there may be distinct developmental trajectories for the ability to ignore motor responses triggered by visual affordances and the stimulus response compatibility effects typically assessed with Simon tasks.
Highlights
James Gibson (1977) first introduced the idea that actions originate in the interaction between the visual attributes of an object signalling potential for action and the goal of the observer
The affordance effect is often attributed to the Simon effect (Cho & Proctor, 2010) in which correspondences between task-irrelevant spatial features and spatial elements of task responses affect reaction time (RT) and accuracy (Hommel, 2011; Simon & Rudell, 1967)
Children aged 6 years and older showed adult-like engagement of hand and grasp-related motor regions in the brain during passive tool viewing in an fMRI scanner (Dekker, Mareschal, Sereno, & Johnson, 2010), suggesting, albeit indirectly, that by the primary school years, visually presented familiar tools activate grasp-relevant motor components without the need for an overt plan to act on these tools
Summary
James Gibson (1977) first introduced the idea that actions originate in the interaction between the visual attributes of an object signalling potential for action (affordances) and the goal of the observer. Children aged 6 years and older showed adult-like engagement of hand and grasp-related motor regions in the brain during passive tool viewing in an fMRI scanner (Dekker, Mareschal, Sereno, & Johnson, 2010), suggesting, albeit indirectly, that by the primary school years, visually presented familiar tools activate grasp-relevant motor components without the need for an overt plan to act on these tools It is unclear, to which extent children are able to ignore such well-learned affordances if they conflict with the task at hand. Eight-year-old children showed adult-like grasp efficiency, but only when the drawing task involved high precision (Thibaut & Toussaint, 2010) Together, these developmental findings suggest that pathways through which visual information about object graspability is transformed into a relevant motor action are present from early in life, but that the ability to manage these motor components during action selection, at least when planning for end-state comfort, continues to develop until well into childhood. While action familiarity can aid efficient grasp planning for end-state comfort in the developing system (Claxton et al, 2009), it might hamper the ability to flexibly choose actions that conflict with the most familiar affordance of the object (Barrett et al, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
