This study quantified the spatial exploration of 13 infants born very and extremely preterm (PT) at 4 months corrected age as they learned that moving their feet vertically to cross a virtual threshold activated an infant kick-activated mobile and compared results to 15 infants born full-term (FT) from a previously published study. Spatial exploration was quantified using two general spatial exploration variables (exploration volume, exploration path), two task-specific spatial variables (duration of time in the task-specific region of interest, vertical variance of kicks), and one non-task-specific spatial variable (horizontal variance of kicks). The infants born PT, similar to FT, increased their general spatial exploration and duration in the region of interest and did not change the vertical and horizontal variances of kicks. However, the infants born PT, compared to FT, spent less time in the task-specific region of interest and had a greater non-task-specific horizontal variance throughout the task. This may indicate that infants born PT and FT exhibit similar general spatial exploration, but infants born PT exhibit less task-specific spatial exploration. Future research is necessary to determine the contribution of learning and motor abilities to the differences in task-specific exploration between infants born PT and FT.
Exploration is considered essential to infant learning, but few studies have quantified infants' task exploration. The purpose of this study was to quantify how infants explored task space with their feet while learning to activate a kick-activated mobile. Data were analyzed from fifteen 4-month-old infants who participated in a 10-min mobile task on 2-3 consecutive days. Infants learned that their vertical leg movements above a systematically increased threshold height activated the mobile. Five kinematic variables were analyzed: 1) exploration space volume, 2) exploration path length, 3) duration of time in the region of interest around the threshold that activated the mobile, 4) task-specific vertical variance of kicks, and 5) non-task-specific horizontal variance of kicks. The infants increased their general spatial exploration, volume and path, and the infants adapted their exploration by maintaining their feet within the region of interest although the task-specific region increased in height as the threshold increased. The infants used task-specific strategies quantified by the increased variance of kicks in the vertical direction and no change in the horizontal variance of kicks. Quantifying infants' task exploration may provide critical insights into how learning emerges in infancy and enable researchers to more systematically describe, interpret, and support learning.