Findings indicated that (1) stable preference measures could be obtained, (2) high preference objects resulted in higher motivation to perform and hence higher levels on each scale, (3) performance of this population is not stable, and (4) ordinality was violated in nearly 20 percent of the administrations of the scales. (Author)

Evaluated 9-, 14-, and 19-month olds' strategies as they grasped and used spoons presented with the handle alternately oriented to left or right. Found that younger children reached with their preferred hand, disregarding the item's orientation. Older children anticipated the problem, alternated the hand used, and achieved an efficient radial grip…

Examined infants' ability to retrieve an object from atop a slightly larger object. Found that even 5-month-olds could retrieve objects close in size and fully contiguous with their bases when demands on reaching skill were reduced. Proposed that when they fail this task, it is because they lack the skill to reach the top object without…

Describes writing as a complex process requiring cooperation of cognitive, perceptual, and motor activities. Examines current trends in handwriting instruction and Montessori's approach to handwriting instruction. Describes the indirect preparation through Montessori materials and a direct teaching approach involving a simplification of the…

Three French-speaking agrammatic aphasics and three French-speaking Conduction aphasics were tested for comprehension of Active, Passive, Cleft-Subject, Cleft-Object, and Cleft-Object sentences with Stylistic Inversion using an object manipulation test. The agrammatic patients consistently reversed thematic roles in the latter sentence type, and…

D. M. Shaffer and M. K. McBeath (see record 2002-02027-006) plotted the optical trajectories of uncatchable fly balls and concluded that linear optical trajectory is the informational basis of the actions taken to catch these balls. P. McLeod, N. Reed, and Z. Dienes (see record 2002-11140-016) replotted these trajectories in terms of changes in…

Two experiments using college students established links between desired knowledge about objects and hand movements during haptic object exploration. Subjects were either blindfolded or had their hands restrained, while performing matching tasks. Hand movements were studied during performance of exploratory procedures. (GDC)

Recent work on the development of the perceptual information-seeking function of the hand in relation to its motor-executive function is reviewed. (PCB)

Tested infants in their second year with a box task to determine whether they would show a hand preference in solutions involving complete differentiation of roles for the two hands. (HOD)

Compares the manipulative exploration of objects of 30 nine-month-old preterm infants with that of 20 nine-month-old full-term infants. Although no difference between the preterms and the full terms was noted, a high-risk preterm subgroup manipulated objects less. A relationship was found between manipulative exploration at nine months and later…

Investigates the exploratory behavior of young children as it relates to individual differences in curiosity, the novelty of the objects explored, and the interactive style employed by an adult experimenter. (Author/MP)

Use of manipulatives is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for meaningful learning. Provides some incidents in support of the argument. Lists 14 references. (YP)

Studied the early development of exploratory behavior in 99 infants of 2-5 months. Results show that there are significant changes in spontaneous multimodal exploration of a novel object between 2 and 5 months. (RJC)

Comparison of 40 children with Down's syndrome and typically developing children (matched for mental age) found that the children with Down's syndrome appeared less engaged in a task, as indicated by shorter sequences of goal directed behavior and higher rates of toy rejection. They also displayed less causality pleasure with object exploration…

Toddlers with Down's syndrome (n=42) were presented with situations in which the primary focus alternated between an object stimulus and a social stimulus. The experimental subjects monitored their environment in the same manner as did the 25 control subjects (matched for mental age) during object mastery but had a more focused attention style…