How Toddlers Acquire and Transfer Tool Knowledge: Developmental Changes and the Role of Executive Functions

• Autores: Sabina Pauen, Sabrina Bechtel-Kuehne
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 87, Nº. 4, 2016, págs. 1233-1249
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This report investigates tool learning and its relations to executive functions (EFs) in toddlers. In Study 1 (N = 93), 18-, 20-, 22-, and 24-month-old children learned equally well to choose a correct tool from observation, whereas performance based on feedback improved with age. Knowledge transfer showed significant progress after 22 months of age: Older children ignored irrelevant features more easily and adjusted their behavior more flexibly. Study 2 (N = 62) revealed that spontaneous transfer in 22- to 24-month-olds was related to set-shifting skills and response inhibition. Flexible adaptation to feedback correlated with working-memory capacity. These findings suggest that toddlerhood is a highly dynamic phase of tool learning and that EFs are related to transfer performance at this age.