Toddlers’ Actions: Knowledge, Control, and the Self

Abstract

A generally shared assumption is that children are active, goal-directed participants in what they experience. However, there appear to be large age differences in the content of and processes mediating goal-directed activity. Adults, in contrast to infants, for example, can explicitly plan, modify, and correct behavior, are not tied to a temporally immediate, physically accessible world, and can achieve desired outcomes in a flexible manner. In addition, adults are more likely to take responsibility for their actions and to relate those actions to personal goals and beliefs.