Haptic exploration of depicted and real objects by 9‐month‐old infants

AbstractPrevious research yielded conflicting reports as to whether infants grasped at both depicted and real objects, which led to questions about the nature of their conceptual understanding of objects represented in pictures. This study set out to further clarify whether infants actually grasp at pictured objects compared to real objects and other flat patterned surfaces. Categorical types of actions, number of successive actions, total frequency counts, transitions between hands, and hand height were evaluated. Infants responded with more persistent actions and overall contact toward the pictured object relative to both the real object and flat pattern. They also lifted and peeked underneath the picture as if searching for the depicted object. Infants did not respond equivocally toward all the display types, nor did they grasp at the pictured object or flat patterned surface. Grasping was only observed toward the actual object. They appear to more actively engage in selective, highly coordinated actions toward depicted objects to learn how they may differ from real objects and other flat surfaces. Methodological variations in coding schemes may underlie the divergent interpretation of infants' actions.HighlightsDo infants actually grasp at real objects, pictured objects and flat patterned surfaces alike?They engaged in reliably greater manual exploration of depicted objects, and grasping was only observed toward actual objects.Selective actions toward depicted objects reveals emergent underlying conceptual understanding of pictures relative to 3D objects and other flat surfaces.