Infants' perception and production of intentional actions

Abstract

Human beings act and interact with their social environment. Thus, it is important not only to understand other individuals' actions, but also to control one's own actions. To understand intentional actions one needs to detect goals in the perceived actions of others as well as to control one's own movements in order to achieve these goals through action production. After a short review of recent studies on the development of action understanding during the first years of life, the role of action effects for action understanding is discussed. In a series of experiments the exchange between action perception and action production is demonstrated, its implications for understanding intentional actions are highlighted.