Ossmy, Ori and Han, D. and Kaplan, B. and Xu, M. and Bianco, C. and Mukamel, R. and Adolph, K. (2021) Children do not distinguish efficient from inefficient actions during observation. Scientific Reports 11 (18106), ISSN 2045-2322.
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Ossmy et al. 2021 Scientific Reports.pdf - Published Version of Record Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) |
Abstract
Observation is a powerful way to learn efficient actions from others. However, the role of observers’ motor skills in assessing the efficiency of others is unknown. Preschoolers are notoriously poor at performing multi-step actions like grasping the handle of a tool. Preschoolers (N = 22) and adults (N = 22) watched video-recorded actors perform efficient and inefficient tool use. Eye tracking showed that preschoolers and adults looked equally long at the videos, but adults looked longer than children at how actors grasped the tool. Deep learning analyses of participants’ eye gaze distinguished efficient from inefficient grasps for adults, but not for children. Moreover, only adults showed differential action-related pupil dilation and neural activity (suppressed oscillation power in the mu frequency) while observing efficient vs. inefficient grasps. Thus, children observe multi-step actions without “seeing” whether the initial step is efficient. Findings suggest that observers’ own motor efficiency determines whether they can perceive action efficiency in others.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Brain and Cognitive Development, Centre for (CBCD) |
| Depositing User: | Ori Ossmy |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2025 16:00 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Sep 2025 06:47 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/55749 |
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