Action and Context Influence Memory for Objects
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Authors
Robson, Scott
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Infancy , Goal Attribution , Context , Object Cognition , Attention , Object Memory
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Abstract
Goal attribution, the process by which infants form expectations or make predictions about the nature and target of another’s ongoing action (usually an object-directed action), is one of the earliest developing examples of human social learning, and one that remains important throughout the lifespan. Chapter 2 is an in-depth review of how infant goal attribution is shaped by contextual factors, including the infant’s own experience and development, the nature and actions of the agent they are observing, the way the object is approached by the agent, the nature of object being acted upon, and the environment in which the action occurs. This review highlights the richness of the information embedded in even a relatively simple action, such as a reach for an item, and how these actions exist at the center of many different areas of study, including social cognition, object cognition, and brain development.
In some contexts, however, infants seemingly do not attribute goals to others, and this contrast has led researchers to posit certain underlying cognitive mechanisms supporting goal attribution. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate that the selectivity of an action can prompt infants to encode the features of a target object. I propose that infants use social information to flexibly allocate their limited cognitive resources to maintain feature bound representations of objects based on contextual information. This proposal represents a more parsimonious alternative to explanations based on infant mentalizing abilities, such as the preference theory of goal attribution. Finally, in Chapter 4, I study the influence of object-directed action and context on how adult observers recognize previously observed objects. I demonstrate that observation of a hand grasping objects influences memory for those objects. Combined, this work highlights the importance of the contextual information, from both the social and physical context, on both how we interpret action and how we think about objects, from infancy into adulthood.
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ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.