Lecture 5 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Discuss Heider and Simmel (1944)’s study of perceiving intentions
Participants asked to watch video and write down what happens, nearly all participants saw the shapes as animate objects with desires and intentions
What are the questions surrounding how do developing children typically become aware of others intentions
Does it start with incomprehension at birth or watching others? Or getting involved with other people quite quickly, starting with connections?
What was Olson (1988)’s view on intentions
Aged 4 children can separate intentions from actions
What was Astington (1991)’s view on intentions
Understanding incomplete actions in terms of intentions should not be possible until then
What is meant by the term incomplete
Which child is ‘gonna swing’ versus ‘is swinging’
What is meant by the term accidental
Which child ‘jumped’ versus ‘fell’
Discuss Meltzoff (1995)’s incomplete actions
Investigated whether 18 month old infants would re-enact what an adult actually did or what the adult intended to do. Infants watched an adult who tried, but failed, to perform certain target acts - e.g. dropping beads into a cup and missing. When handed the apparatus, infant will perform the intended action correctly. Findings replicated in 15 month old’s too
What age can we see infants identifying other’s needs and helping them complete their intentional actions
18 months
Discuss Carpenter et al (1988)’s study
14-15 month olds imitated twice as many intentional actions of an adult model, than accidental ones
Discuss Schwier et al (2006)’s study
12 month olds imitate odd actions only if intentional
Discuss Behne et al (2005)’s study
9, 12 and 18 month olds more impatient when adult is unwilling than unable: adult did not pass over a toy either because they were unable or because they were unwilling
What is rational imitation
Evidence suggests that infants not only understand goals but also the rational basis for that choice of action - suggests goal directed action is a selective, interpretive process
Give two examples of rational imitation
Gergely, Bekkering & Kiraly (2002) found 69% of infants from hands free condition used their heads to turn on the light after seeing the adult turn it on with their head, compared to only 21% in hands occupied condition. Schwier et al (2006) found 12 month olds imitate odd actions only if intentional and rational - more likely to imitate chimney cation in door open condition
What is the rationality principle
The attribution of goals occurs also to objects, and is based on the principle of rationality - this is not about detecting minds, but the demonstration of a teleological stance. 12 month olds have principled expectations about rational goal approaches of human agents. Longer looks at indirect approaches
Is attributing goals to actions about having experienced the actions oneself or about the familiarity of actions observed in others
No. It’s about rationality
Discuss Southgate et al (2008)’s study
More dis-habituation to a possible but irrational actions than to a biomechanically impossible but rational action
Discuss parsing dynamic actions
Newtson & Engquist (1976) - adults segment streams of movement into actions. Baldwin & Baird (2001) - 10-11 month olds: infants longer looks at interruptions: sensitivity to the structure of intentional action
Discuss reaching/grasping in term intentions
Some of the earliest evidence of infants understanding others actions as being intentional comes from research that has looked at reaching and grasping behaviours. Woodward (2009). Hamlin, Hallinan & Woodward (2008) found 7-month old infants observed an actor perform on one of two toys to see whether they would then choose the intended toy - goal-directed vs goal-ambiguous
Discuss Woodwards findings
From 5 months of age infants dis-habituate to new goal more than to new side. This is the case even with just an arm reaching out - without the person. Not the case if the arm reaches out backwards. If given prior self-experience of picking up object infants dis-habituate more to new goal than to new side from 3 months of age.
Discuss how we can measure anticipating others actions
Looking time measure - less demanding and less active, earliest correct looking time for goal-directed acts = 3 months with training. Anticipatory gaze measures - more immediate, but tough, earliest correct anticipatory gaze = 6 months.
Discuss some issues with this research
The infant experience of actions is predominantly to self. Is 6 months the earliest age for predicting others action-goals - are goal-directed actions to self detected earlier. Is own motor ability really necessary - can infants not predict movements which they themselves cannot do
What is one of the earliest actions infants experiences and discuss this
Being picked up. Children with autism reported by parents not to make the typical anticipatory postural adjustments of typical infants - back arching at 4 months.
In typical development what happens when an infant is picked up
By 12 months infants lift up their arms to be picked up and may start doing this earlier. Emergence of pick up requests from anticipatory pick up responses
Discuss the method Reddy, Markova & Wallot (2013) used to study mothers reaching out to infants
Mothers reaching out to pick up infants with arms visibly approaching - three phases of maternal action: CHAT APPROACH CONTACT. Comparison of infant responses - the timing of postural shifts measured by force mats; legs = flexion, arms = raised, head = raised/turned. 3 month olds and 2, 3, and 4 month olds.
