Article

When required to walk around a stationary object, adults use the location of the
goal to set up their locomotor axis and obstacles presented along the locomotor
axis will repel the individual towards the side that affords more space [1].
Research has yet to examine whether children can identify the locomotor axis and
choose their paths accordingly. Therefore, the current study examined the factors
that influence the direction in which children choose to deviate around a single
obstacle and whether the presence or absence of a goal influences path selection
and trajectory. Ten children (age: 7.1 years+/-0.8) walked along a 9 m path and
avoided a single obstacle that was located in one of three locations (midline, 15
cm to the right or 15 cm to the left). On half the trials, an end-goal was
visible from the start of the path while the other half of the trials had no
visible goal. The results demonstrate that: (1) children are able to perceive and
move towards more open space but are more variable when the end-goal is not
visible; (2) children are capable of maintaining an elliptical-shaped protective
envelope when avoiding a single obstacle regardless of whether or not the
locomotor axis is established; and (3) although children are capable of choosing
paths that afford the most space, the manner in which they arrive at their goal
is not driven by factors similar to adults.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS