Observed 12-month olds, with their mothers and independently, acting on objects from home and objects brought by the experimenter as new exemplars of previous toys. Found that conventional actions were more frequent in joint than in independent activity. In independent activity, conventional actions were more frequent with customary than with…

Investigates the sensorimotor exploration of novel stimuli of 18 Aboriginal and 18 Caucasian Australian children of 4-6 years. Findings indicate that Aboriginal and Caucasian children displayed similar levels and patterns of visual and tactile exploration of a novel object, with Aboriginal children manipulating at a higher rate. (RJC)