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Infants' Anticipations and Grasps of Familiar and Unfamiliar Tools

dc.contributor.authorHalligan, Taylor
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-23T16:48:24Z
dc.date.available2016-04-23T16:48:24Z
dc.date.issued2016-04-15
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1803/7545
dc.descriptionThis thesis encompasses an experimental research study done as part of an honors program. The study aims to explore infants' knowledge of the handles of tools by examining their grasping and anticipation behaviors.en_US
dc.description.abstractInfants must learn how to use many tools in order to engage in a variety of daily tasks. An unpublished pilot study in our lab suggests that 6.5 to 8.5-month-old infants fixated more on the handle of a familiar tool than 3- to 5-month-olds (Hirtle, Strouse, Borten, & Needham, 2007). The current study aimed to extend this prior research by also obtaining measures of infants’ grasping behaviors on tools. Infants were more likely to make anticipations of the hand reaching for the handle of the peeler than the handle of the spoon, and were also more likely to make anticipations of the hand reaching for the usable portion of the spoon than the handle portion of the spoon. The only reliable predictor of infants’ first grasp location on the tools was age, with 12.5-month-olds more reliably grasping the handle of an adult spoon. Results are discussed in terms of the experiences they have had with these tools and how they interpret those experiences.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Honors Program in Psychological Sciencesen_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherVanderbilt Universityen_US
dc.subjecttool useen_US
dc.subjectinfancyen_US
dc.subjecthandleen_US
dc.subjectgraspingen_US
dc.subjectanticipationsen_US
dc.subject.lcshDevelopmental psychologyen_US
dc.subject.lcshInfants -- Developmenten_US
dc.subject.lcshTools -- Psychological aspectsen_US
dc.titleInfants' Anticipations and Grasps of Familiar and Unfamiliar Toolsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.collegePeabody Collegeen_US
dc.description.schoolVanderbilt Universityen_US
dc.description.departmentPsychology and Human Developmenten_US


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