Maxine Sheets-Johnstone
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014601
- eISBN:
- 9780262289795
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014601.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter discusses infant spatial perceptions and cognitions, and how they are intimately tied to movement and are constituted from the ground up by infants themselves even without instruction ...
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This chapter discusses infant spatial perceptions and cognitions, and how they are intimately tied to movement and are constituted from the ground up by infants themselves even without instruction from anyone. Psychologists describe the fascination of infants and young children with “insideness,” i.e. with being in or inside, or with putting inside. As an example, the chapter presents a statement Piaget made in conjunction with one of his documented observations of a mouth gesture made by his sixteen-month-old daughter. This statement dramatically highlights both the phenomenon of thinking in movement and the all-too-common oversight of it. Infant psychologist T. G. R. Bower, in the context of corroborating observations made by Piaget of his children, writes that “Piaget’s son was surely typical in finding the relation ‘inside’ fascinating.” Latter parts of the chapter point out an oversight on Piaget’s part in making his statement.Less
This chapter discusses infant spatial perceptions and cognitions, and how they are intimately tied to movement and are constituted from the ground up by infants themselves even without instruction from anyone. Psychologists describe the fascination of infants and young children with “insideness,” i.e. with being in or inside, or with putting inside. As an example, the chapter presents a statement Piaget made in conjunction with one of his documented observations of a mouth gesture made by his sixteen-month-old daughter. This statement dramatically highlights both the phenomenon of thinking in movement and the all-too-common oversight of it. Infant psychologist T. G. R. Bower, in the context of corroborating observations made by Piaget of his children, writes that “Piaget’s son was surely typical in finding the relation ‘inside’ fascinating.” Latter parts of the chapter point out an oversight on Piaget’s part in making his statement.
