Poster #162 - Postural Control and Locomotor Ability Relate to Means-End Problem Solving

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Perceptual, Sensory, Motor

Integrative Statement

Background: Means-end problem solving (MEPS) involves the intentional execution of a planned sequence of actions to achieve a goal, often assessed in the towel pull task [pulling a towel (means object) to obtain a distant, supported toy (end object)] (Brandone, 2015; Willatts, 1999). Previous research found that successful MEPS (contacting the end object with prior visual attention to it) was related to a prevalence of goal-directed behaviors (GDB: looking at the toy, pulling the cloth), lower levels of non-goal-directed behaviors (NGDB: looking at the towel, touching the towel, mouthing the towel, reaching for an out-of-reach toy), and lower variability of behavioral performance at later ages of 18-24 months (Cunha et al., 2018).
Since improved postural control and locomotor ability provide infants opportunities to use vision and manual behaviors to explore objects and their relations across expanded spatial areas (Dusing & Harbourne, 2010; Lobo & Galloway, 2008, 2013; Thelen & Spencer, 1998), we hypothesized that children’s milestones of postural control and locomotion would positively relate to their success in MEPS and performance of GDB, and negatively relate to their performance of NGDB, as well as behavioral variability at later ages.
Methods: This study included 54 children (23 males) assessed longitudinally at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months in the towel pull MEPS task (3 trials, 30-sec per trial). Thirteen postural and locomotor milestones were identified from Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III, Bayley, 2006) testing at each visit (e.g., trunk elevation, sitting with and without support, rolling, transitioning from sitting to crawling, crawling, standing with and without support, walking with and without support). Percent of successful MEPS trials, percent time performing GDB or NGDB, and percent of potential behaviors performed (variability) at each visit was related to children’s postural and locomotor milestones, coded as 1 (attained) or 0 (not attained), at each visit. Statistical analyses were conducted in HLM.
Results: Current results suggest that children with more advanced postural control and locomotion had higher rates of MEPS success, greater prevalence of GDB and lower levels of NGDB; children with earlier-emerging locomotor abilities showed less behavioral variability during MEPS (Table 1).
Discussion: The results suggest that children with more advanced postural control and locomotor ability may be more advanced in their MEPS ability. We propose that children’s increased competence in postural control and locomotion allows them new experiences with their surroundings that might facilitate their learning about relations among objects, consequences of their actions on objects, and the means-end causation concept, which all translate into successful MEPS.

Authors

• Iryna Babik, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Andrea Baraldi Cunha, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kayla Morrell, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michele A. Lobo, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author