St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The goal trumps the means : highlighting goals is more beneficial than highlighting means in means-end training

Thumbnail
View/Open
Gerson_Woodward_2013infancy.pdf (638.3Kb)
Date
04/2013
Author
Gerson, Sarah
Woodward, Amanda
Keywords
Means-end actions
Infant cognition
Goals
Problem-solving
Cognitive development
BF Psychology
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
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-month-old 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 saw either 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 means-end actions.
Citation
Gerson , S & Woodward , A 2013 , ' The goal trumps the means : highlighting goals is more beneficial than highlighting means in means-end training ' , Infancy , vol. 18 , no. 2 , pp. 289-302 . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00112.x
Publication
Infancy
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00112.x
ISSN
1525-0008
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © International Society on Infant Studies (ISIS). This is the accepted version of the following article: Gerson, S. A. and Woodward, A. L. (2013), The Goal Trumps the Means: Highlighting Goals is More Beneficial than Highlighting Means in Means-End Training. Infancy, 18: 289–302, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00112.x/abstract
Description
This work was partially supported by a grant to the second author from NICHD (HD35707).
Collections
  • Psychology & Neuroscience Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6183

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter