Development of means–end behavior in young infants

Pulling a support to retrieve a distant object

Bibliographic Data

ID9792000
AuthorsPeter Willatts (corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume35
Issue3
Pages651-667
Publication date1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0012-1649.35.3.651
OpenAlexW4249180569
LanguageEN
Citations received18

Three longitudinal studies are reported in which 6-8-month-old infants were tested on means-end problems involving pulling a cloth to retrieve a toy. Production of intentional means-end behavior increased between 6 and 7 months, but although 6-month-olds' behavior was unaffected by the presence or absence of a toy on the cloth, 7-month-olds more often produced means-end sequences when a toy could be retrieved. Infants' performance remained the same when the cloth was either attached to the toy or separate, suggesting that goal-subgoal conflict does not interfere with performance of means-end sequences. By 8 months, infants could appropriately adjust their means-end behavior to the distance of the toy. These results confirm J. Piaget's (1953) original description of a shift from transitional to intentional means-end behavior and suggest that development of means-end behavior involves acquisition of knowledge of appropriate means-end relations

Child development · Childhood development · Cognition · Cognitive development · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Object (grammar · Object permanence · Artificial Intelligence · Child and Animal Learning Development · Child Therapy and Development · Cognitive and psychological constructs research · Computer Science · Psychology

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