ABSTRACT

This chapter takes a detailed look at a single developmental transition in infancy. The transition, the onset of successful goal-directed reaching, is important in itself. The ability to grasp and manipulate objects is a major milestone in the development of human cognition. Control over our arms and hands is central to our lives as human beings, allowing us to use tools, communicate with others, provide caregiving, and create music and art. The very nature of our cognition is shaped by the fact that we have agile, highly differentiated appendages. Much research has documented the intimate connections between thought and manual actions of all kinds (Jeannerod, 1997).