Adults are skilled at perceiving subjective contours in regions without any local image information (e.g., [Ginsburg, 1975] and [Kanizsa, 1976]). Here we examined the development of this skill and the effect thereon of the support ratio (i.e., the ratio of the physically specified contours to the total contour length). Children (6-, 9-, and…

Performance-based measures of hand preference have been developed as an objective method of examining handedness. Previous research using this method by Bryden, Roy, and Mamolo (2003) showed that both skill demands and the position of the object in working space affect preferential hand reaching. Specifically, preferred hand reaches predominated…

Human toddlers demonstrate striking failures when searching for hidden objects that interact with other objects, yet successfully locate hidden objects that do not undergo mechanical interactions. This pattern hints at a developmental dissociation between contact-mechanical and spatiotemporal knowledge. Recent studies suggest that adult non-human…

The purpose of this study was to explore how children use location and distance cues to reproduce movements as compared with adults. Subjects were three groups of children, aged 6, 8, and 10, and one group of adults. A linear slide was used by the blindfolded subjects to indicate one of two experimenter-defined stops. Distance and location were…

A resource and activity guide for the developmentally disabled that focuses on fine motor skills is presented. Attention is directed to fine motor behavior during the first year (vision, grasp, and release and reaching), and behaviors developing at 13 months (the interaction of fine motor and cognitive skills). An introductory section considers…