Manual action, fitting, and spatial planning: Relating objects by young children

Abstract

This study uses motion tracking technology to provide a new way of addressing the development of the ability to prospectively orient objects with respect to one another. A group of toddlers between 16-33 months of age (N=30) were studied in an object fitting task while they wore reflective markers on their hands to track spatial adjustments in three dimensions. Manual displacements of the handheld object were separated into translations and rotations. Results revealed that younger children largely used a two-step approach in which they initially translate an object to a target and subsequently attempt to rotate the object to match the target. In contrast, older children evidence more advanced spatial planning and integrate translational and rotational components throughout the entire period when they are transporting the object to the target. Additionally, at the oldest ages, children show even further improvements in coordinating translations and rotations by using relatively shorter translations (i.e., covering less distance) and by avoiding unnecessary rotations of the object. More broadly, the results offer insights into how manual problem solving becomes more efficient and planful during the toddler years.

“Vision for Action” in Young Children Aligning Multi-Featured Objects: Development and Comparison with Nonhuman Primates

“…In our study, both two and three year-old children succeeded on a greater percentage of 3D trials than 2D trials, and this was most evident for two year-olds (see Table 2 ). Jung et al [ 36 ] took a complementary perspective, studying the process by which young children (16–33 months old) integrate rotation and translation of an object while completing a fitting task. These authors show that children between two and three years-old, compared to children16–20 months, better integrate translational and rotational components of movement while bringing a rod to a matching cut-out placed on a table in front of them.…”

Fitting handled objects into apertures by 17- to 36-month-old children: The dynamics of spatial coordination.

“…Translations refer to the movement of an object to a new location and rotations refer to a change in the orientation of the object (Landau & Spelke, 1988). During the preschool years, young children begin to integrate translations and rotations when they stack objects (Hayashi & Takeshita, 2009; Verdine et al, 2014) or fit objects into apertures (Jung, Kahrs, & Lockman, 2015; Örnkloo & von Hofsten, 2007; Shutts, Örnkloo, von Hofsten, Keen, & Spelke, 2009; Street, James, Jones, & Smith, 2011), transporting the object to its target (translation) while they orient it (rotation) with respect to that target.…”

“…Children's performance on object alignment or fitting tasks has been studied previously in young children, but mainly with non-handled objects (Jung et al, 2015; Örnkloo & von Hofsten, 2007; Shutts et al, 2009; Street et al, 2011, but see Barrett, Davis, & Needham, 2007). Results from several studies indicate that prior to the end of the second year, children evidence difficulty in coordinating translations and rotations when fitting objects without handles into apertures.…”

Kinematic characteristics of second‐order motor planning and performance in 6‐ and 10‐year‐old children and adults: Effects of age and task constraints

“…Kinematic studies in young children have additionally reported a developmental progress in coordinating translations and rotations of handled objects to be fitted into apertures. The results suggest an improved spatial planning ability over the toddler years (Jung, Kahrs, & Lockman, , ).…”