EFFECT OF SELF-INITIATED LOCOMOTION ON INFANT SEARCH ACTIVITY

The ability of young infants to search for a hidden object was studied following self-initiated locomotion or passive transportation to the search locations. Twenty-six infants between 10 and 11 months of age were (a) trained to move independently 180° around a hiding box by crawling (self-initiated locomotion) and (b) carried 180° around the hiding box by a parent (other-initiated locomotion) before they were allowed to search for an object hidden in one of two locations. Self-initiated locomotion produced more frequent correct object search than did other-initiated locomotion. The results support Piaget's hypothesis that practical, action-based knowledge during infancy is involved in the achievement of spatial understanding and that the experience of self-initiated locomotion contributes to spatial development. We argue that self-initiated locomotion fosters the infant's understanding of spatial relations because it (a) encourages the active revision of spatial relations that change with movement through space, (b) provides the opportunity to control the means-ends relation between actions and the achievement of a goal, and (c) contributes to a practical, action-based knowledge of object and self-relations in space. © 1985 American Psychological Association.