Detection of the relevant type of locomotion in infancy: crawlers versus walkers

Abstract

Human infants show a preference for individuals who are similar to them. Using point-light displays of human walkers and crawlers as stimuli, we examined whether infants' preference for the motions of crawling and walking changes between, before, and after the onset of bipedal walking. The results show that crawling and walking infants prefer the types of locomotion that are similar to their own, respectively. These indicate that the infants detect the similarities between the motions they performed and they observed, which provides the behavioral evidence that the production of a particular motion is connected to its perception in infancy.