ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The childhood emergence and development of motor behavioural skills is imperfectly understood despite intensive study. This report is of the development of motor skills and social behaviour in young children. POPULATION AND METHODS: 17 infants (9 boys and 8 girls) in good health, aged 8 to 11 months at the beginning of the research, were studied. They were observed in groups of 6 for 30 minutes, in a special area fitted out with climbing structures, once every two weeks for one year. Their movements and behavior were filmed. RESULTS: 1) Motor skills which allow the "conquest" of climbing structures and complex social behaviors (multimodal interactions, imitations, cooperations, anticipations of behaviors) had developed by the time the children were 12 months old and were first examined. 2) From 12 to 14-15 months old, they consolidated these motor skills and the frequency of imitations and multimodal interactions increased markedly. 3) From 14 to 18 months old, they assumed the standing position more and more during ascents and descents and the frequency and diversity of imitations and cooperations increased sharply. 4) There was relatively little aggressive behavior at all ages. CONCLUSIONS: Motor skills and social behavior appear earlier and are more complex in children moving freely among their peers in a special setting than previously reported for developmental scales.
Subject(s)
Child Development , Motor Skills , Aging/physiology , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Psychomotor Performance , Research , Social Behavior , Time FactorsABSTRACT
In this article we report on the first results of a research on the abilities and interactive behaviors of 16 infants aged from 4 to 7 months, with an infant of the same age. These infants are studied in dyads from the moment they are seated by their mother in two experimental seats. The position and distance of the seats are regulated at distance according to a procedure consisting in 8 phases of 3 minute duration each. The mothers of the two infants are present and can be seen by their child during the experimental session. The principal results can be summed up as follows: 1. The infant-partner is the first rank target of the gaze of the other infant. The frequency and duration of the orientations of the gaze in the direction of one or another of its body areas are significantly higher than the frequency and duration of the self-centered gazes (very weak) and the frequency and duration of the orientations of the gaze in other directions, including towards their mothers. These behaviors between the infants do not decrease in frequency or duration as long as the infants do not receive an object. 2. The face and hands of the infant-partner are the most frequent targets of the gaze; they also have the highest cumulated duration. The mutual catching of the eyes is also well represented, since this occupy the fifth place among the 25 items of behavior which were measured. 3. 4 of the 7 best represented items are the interactive behaviors with the other infant. 4. The manual behaviors already appear well organized, targetted, and visually controlled. In particular: the extension of the arm in the direction of the infant-partner, with the hand in pronation, lateral, oblique or in supination; the extension of the arm with a rotation of the hand from the pronation position to the supination position; taking the hand of the other infant. 5. Among the other complex behaviors one can observe diverse forms of imitation and modulated vocalizations which are rich in phonemes. 6. Most interactive behaviors are influenced by the human context (the different positions of the infants with regard to each other) and giving an object to each infant (last phase of the protocol). The infants appear, therefore, capable of taking into account most behaviors of the other infant in the organization of their own behaviors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Subject(s)
Child Behavior , Interpersonal Relations , Peer Group , Psychology, Child , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Eye Movements , Facial Expression , Female , Humans , Infant , Kinesics , Male , Mother-Child Relations , Motor Skills , Nonverbal Communication , Verbal BehaviorABSTRACT
This paper reports new data on the emergence and development from the 9th to 19th month of age of motor, interactive, and social behaviors of 17 children with peers in a milieu that allows the "conquest" of the third dimension of space without limitation of their motor activity. Their motor skills and social behaviors appear more precocious and complex than previously indicated by scientific publications, clinical observations, and developmental scales. 1. The motor skills that allow the "conquest" of climbing structures (ascents of a spiral staircase and a ramp) are already observed before the age of 12 months in some children (ascents of the ramp) or nearly half of them (ascents of the staircase). Complex social behaviors (multimodal interactions from here and there along a holed partition, imitations, cooperations, anticipation of the behavior of the partner) also emerge before 12 months. 2. The age range from 12 to 14 to 15 months is characterized by consolidation of the motor skills that allow the "conquest" of the third dimension of the space and a rapid increase of the imitations and interactions around the holed partition. 3. The age range from 14 to 18 months is characterized by diversification of the posturomotor patterns during ascents and descents of staircase and ramp and the growing predominance of the standing position. This is also a phase of significant increase in frequency of imitations and cooperations and of emergence of complex forms of cooperation. 4. Aggression is infrequent at all ages.
Subject(s)
Child Day Care Centers/methods , Child Development/physiology , Infant Care/methods , Motor Skills/physiology , Nurseries, Infant , Social Behavior , Child, Preschool , Facility Design and Construction , Female , France , Humans , Infant , Interpersonal Relations , Male , Peer GroupABSTRACT
In the first part of this paper we report on a new method we have developed for the study of the genesis and regulations of the behavior of infants in interactive situations. Detailed information is given on the following aspects: 1. The technical characteristics of the device that allows the infants to be seated in an upright position; 2. The different periods of the experimental procedure; 3. The method used for analyzing the behavioral data. As infants were video-taped without any interruption (real-time record), the behavioral data were analysed in two different ways: A. Macroscopic analyses were carried out using 84 items and 12 categories of behavior. These analyses allowed us to measure the temporal evolution of a limited set of easily recognized behaviors from one experimental period to the next and one experimental session to the next at one-week time intervals; B. Microscopic analyses were carried out with a special software program (THEME) using 222 items divided among 14 categories of behavior. This program was created by Magnusson. It allows the worker to search for significant patterns in sequential events which are recorded in real time, i.e. intra-individual behavioral structure as well as interindividual relationship (interaction). Information is given on the theoretical model and the pattern identification method. The first data can be thus summarized: 1. Four month old infants show a high level competence in their visual attention span in relation to each other; 2. They appear to have varied and complex behavior and interaction processes; 3. Each child has his or her own behavior dynamics throughout each experimental session and from one period to the next; 4. There are some special relationships between infant-infant interactions and the modalities of interaction between each infant and its mother; 5. Periodical behavioral "outbursts" are observed, which might in themselves constitute organizers of behavior; 6. It also makes clear the existence and structure of significant intra- and inter-individual behavioral patterns some of which are particularly complex (patterns are defined as significant connections between two items at least, within a critical time interval, calculated by THEME); 7. It reveals the function of these patterns in mutual adjustment processes between both infants throughout the experimental session.
