2-035 - Exploratory Actions and the Development of Acting with Others

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The ability to coordinate our activities with others is essential to jointly acting, including learning and carrying on a conversation. Infants begin life completely dependent on others for regulation of basic needs and stimulation. As infants acquire new behaviors they do so in the context of the behaviors of others. In this context children are not just learning to act and perceive but to jointly act and jointly perceive. Although there are clear changes in children’s ability to coordinate with others over development we have little understanding of the nature of these changes. This symposium considers how the ability to coordinate with others might be related to the ability to coordinate one’s own action through exploratory movements. The first talk presents a longitudinal study that considers how exploratory behavior through locomotion aids in the development of spatial reasoning. The second talk presents research on the development of social coordination in the context of object play looking at how parent and child come to jointly examine objects. The third talk bridges the gap between exploratory actions and actions with others; looking at developmental differences in how children coordinate their movements with an adult in a video game like task. The discussant will integrate the talks by considering the relationship between the ability of actions to explore configurations of one’s own body and the ability to coordinate actions with others from a movement science perspective. In collection, this symposium considers the role of exploratory action in the development of action with others.

Sub Unit

• Perceptual, Sensory, Motor

Chair

• Adam Sheya, University of Connecticut

Discussant

• R.C. Schmidt, College of the Holy Cross

Individual Presentations

• Learning on the Move: Walking Attainment Facilitates Visuospatial Skills - Presenting Author: Ora Oudgenoeg-Paz, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Hanna Mulder, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Stefan van der Stigchel, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Ineke van der Ham, Leiden University; Non-Presenting Author: M (Chiel) Volman, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Paul Leseman, Utrecht University

• Time Series Analysis of Parent and Infant Object Exchanges: From Asynchronous to Coordinated Interaction - Presenting Author: Joseph M Burling, University of California, Los Angeles; Non-Presenting Author: Hanako Yoshida, University of Houston

• Exploratory Movements and the Development of Joint Action - Presenting Author: Ashley Dhaim, University of Connecticut; Non-Presenting Author: Adam Sheya, University of Connecticut