Catching skills in infancy

Infants were induced to reach for fast moving objects whose velocity and starting position varied. Altogether, 144 reaches were analyzed by a technique that took into consideration the three-dimensional properties of reaches. It was found that reaches in all conditions were aimed close to the meeting point with the object. The precision in timing of a reach was about a twentieth of a second, and the systematic timing errors were close to zero. The results suggest that the infant reaches in reference to a coordinate system fixed to the moving object instead of to the static background, that is, the infant's hand is moved with the object at the same time as it is moved toward the object. It is concluded that the capacity to time and coordinate one's movements in the catching of a moving object is a very basic and early developed skill.