Natural-ish behavior: The interplay of culture and context in shaping motor behavior in infancy.

ABSTRACT

What is natural behavior and how does it differ from laboratory-based behavior? The "natural" in natural behavior implies the everyday, complex, ever-changing, yet predictable environment in which children grow up. "Behavior" is motor action and is foundational to psychology, as it includes all things to function in everyday environments. Is behavior demonstrated in the laboratory un-natural? Suppose behavior emerges spontaneously, in a context that is most common to the animal but an observer is there to document it using particular research tools. Is that behavior natural or natural-ish? Methods can powerfully affect conclusions about infant experiences and learning. In the lab, tasks are typically narrowly constrained where infants and children have little opportunity to display the variety of behaviors in their repertoire. Data from naturalistic observations may paint a very different picture of learning and development from those based on structured tasks, exposing striking variability in the environment and behavior and new relations between the organism and its environment. Using motor development as a model system, in this chapter we compare frameworks, methods, and findings originating in the lab and in the field, applied and adapted in different settings. Specifically, we recount our journey of pursuing the study of cultural influences on motor development in Tajikistan, and the challenges, surprises, and lessons learned.