Infant reaching to a hidden affordance: Evidence for intentionality

To act on an affordance requires discovery and motoric regulation by sensor y information. To act on a "hidden affordance" additionally implies a respo nse based on previously presented sensory information not present at the ti me of the activity. It is argued that to act on a hidden affordance provide s evidence for intentionality. In Study 1, we examined infant perception of a hidden affordance by measuring responses before and after tasting a swee t or a bitter object. Participants were 38 infants, aged 2.5-5.8 months. We found that the proportion of post-tasting reaches, but not kicks, was high er for a sweet than a bitter object. To determine awareness of the particul ar object, participants in Study 2 tasted a different object. Twenty infant s 2.3 to 5.6 months of age were tested. In this study, the post-tasting pro portion of reaches and kicks did not differ by taste condition. Thus, infan ts show reaching behavior influenced by a hidden affordance, suggesting int entionality. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.