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The effect of imposed optical flow on guided locomotion in young walkers
Author(s) -
Schmuckler Mark A.,
Gibson Eleanor J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-835x.1989.tb00800.x
Subject(s) - optical flow , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , task (project management) , simulation , computer science , computer vision , engineering , medicine , systems engineering , image (mathematics)
Three groups of infants, differing in their age and walking experience, were presented with optical flow in a moving hallway, and postural adjustments were measured. Children either stood still, or walked back and forth within this hallway in two conditions. In the first, the hallway was uncluttered; in the second, a guidance task was created by placing obstacles (rubber traffic pylons) along the path. For standing trials, there were no significant differences in postural responses between the two conditions. For walking trials, children staggered and fell more often in the presence of obstacles. It appears that steering through a cluttered environment increases postural perturbation during imposed optical flow. These results suggest that two discrete functions, maintaining postural stability and steering, are involved in locomotion, and are guided by different informational aspects of optical flow. Increasing age and walking experience allows children to learn to distinguish between these two types of information, providing them with a means for better integrating these two concurrent functions.