The ability to predict actions of others from distributed cues is still developing in children

TitleThe ability to predict actions of others from distributed cues is still developing in children
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsKim, D, McMahon, E, Mehr, S, Nakayama, K, Spelke, ES, Vaziri-Pashkam, M
JournalPsyArXiv Preprints
Date Published01/2020
KeywordsAction prediction, action understanding, Biological motion, development, Social interaction
Abstract

Adults use distributed cues in the bodies of others to predict and counter their actions. To investigate the development of this ability, adults and 6- to 8-year-old children played a competitive game with a confederate who reached toward one of two targets. Child and adult participants, who sat across from the confederate, attempted to beat the confederate to the target by touching it before the confederate did. Adults used cues distributed through the head, shoulders, and body to predict the reaching actions. Children, in contrast, used cues in the arms and torso but not in the head, face or shoulders to predict the actions. These results provide evidence for a qualitative change in the ability to respond rapidly to predictive cues to others’ actions develops slowly over childhood. Despite children’s sensitivity to eye gaze even in infancy, cues from the head and body do not influence their action predictions as late as 8 years of age.

DOI10.31234/osf.io/pu3tf

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