Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development
- The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Foundations
- Part II Perceptual Development
- Part III Cognitive Development
- Part IV Action
- 17 Action in Development
- 18 The Mirror Neuron System and Social Cognition
- 19 Infant Object Manipulation and Play
- 20 The Infant’s Visual World
- Part V Language
- Part VI Emotional and Social Development
- Index
- References
17 - Action in Development
Plasticity, Variability, and Flexibility
from Part IV - Action
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 September 2020
- The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development
- The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Foundations
- Part II Perceptual Development
- Part III Cognitive Development
- Part IV Action
- 17 Action in Development
- 18 The Mirror Neuron System and Social Cognition
- 19 Infant Object Manipulation and Play
- 20 The Infant’s Visual World
- Part V Language
- Part VI Emotional and Social Development
- Index
- References
Summary
Infant motor skill acquisition is so rapid and dramatic that a century of researchers – and eons of parents – have marveled at the scope of developmental change. At birth, infants are essentially prisoners of gravity, unable to lift their heads from their caregivers’ chest. But by 2 years of age, infants can “pluck a pellet with fine pincer prehension” (Gesell, 1929, p. 132) and race on two feet across the living room floor. This remarkable transformation in action characterizes the development of basic motor skills – posture for supporting the body against gravitational and inertial forces, manual skills for interacting with objects and surfaces, and locomotion for moving the body through the environment (Adolph & Berger, 2015).
Keywords
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- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Infant DevelopmentBrain, Behavior, and Cultural Context, pp. 469 - 494Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
References
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