Gerson Sarah A, Woodward Amanda L
Donders Institute of Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen.
Infancy. 2013 Mar 1;18(2):289-302. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00112.x.
Means-end actions are an early-emerging form of problem-solving. These actions require initiating initial behaviors with a goal in mind. In this study, we explored the origins of 8-monthold infants' means-end action production using a cloth-pulling training paradigm. We examined whether highlighting the goal (toy) or the means (cloth) was more valuable for learning to perform a well-organized means-end action. Infants were given the opportunity to both practice cloth-pulling and view modeling of the action performed by an adult throughout the session. Infants either saw the same toy or the same cloth in successive trials so that the goal or means were highlighted prior to modeling of the action. All infants improved throughout the session regardless of which aspect of the event was highlighted. Beyond this general improvement, repetition of goals supported more rapid learning and more sustained learning than did repetition of means. These findings provide novel evidence that, at the origins of means-end action production, emphasizing the goal that structures an action facilitates the learning of new meansend actions.
手段-目的行为是一种早期出现的解决问题的形式。这些行为需要在头脑中有目标的情况下启动初始行为。在本研究中，我们使用拉布训练范式探索了8个月大婴儿手段-目的行为产生的起源。我们研究了突出目标（玩具）还是手段（布）对于学习执行有组织的手段-目的行为更有价值。在整个实验过程中，婴儿有机会练习拉布并观看成人执行该行为的示范。婴儿在连续试验中要么看到相同的玩具，要么看到相同的布，以便在行为示范之前突出目标或手段。无论突出事件的哪个方面，所有婴儿在整个实验过程中都有进步。除了这种总体进步之外，重复目标比重复手段支持更快的学习和更持续的学习。这些发现提供了新的证据，即在手段-目的行为产生的起源阶段，强调构建行为的目标有助于新手段-目的行为的学习。
