Résumé
Second-order planning has been widely observed in young adults, while children have demonstrated inconsistent planning for the end-state comfort effect (ESC). ESC is a common indicator of second-order planning in object manipulation tasks, and has been detected in a variety of task designs: object transport, overturned tasks, and joint action tasks. It is not fully understood why some children unreliably display ESC compared to other children, and between variable tasks. The present study aimed to explore second-order planning in children through bimanual overturned cup tasks with children. Children (N = 70; ages 6-11) performed four bimanual cup tasks, first with a standard cup size (6.7 cm diameter), and then their choice of cup size (4.7-8.4cm diameter). Four conditions were performed with both cups: 1) both upright (BU), 2) both overturned (BO), 3) right upright/left overturned (RULO), and 4) right overturned/left upright (ROLU). ESC grasps were coded and Poisson Regressions were run for all conditions. Across multiple tasks, age consistently predicted higher ESC performance (p < .05; Standard Size BO, RULO, ROLU, Cup Choice BO, ROLU), with coefficients highlighting that older children demonstrated ESC more consistently. Despite hypotheses, hand size was not a significant predictor and no gender differences emerged. More frequent ESC was observed when all cups were in an upright position, regardless of cup size. Results highlight that the significant association with age suggests a developmental trend in bimanual control, and support the inconsistent performance of secondary-planning among children.
