Research
Children's Perception of Gap Affordances
In a
recent study we examined gap choices and crossing behavior in children and
adults using an immersive, interactive bicycling simulator. Ten- and
12-year-olds and adults rode a bicycle mounted on a stationary trainer
through a virtual environment consisting of a street with 6 intersections.
Participants faced continuous cross traffic traveling at 25mph or 35mph and
waited for gaps they judged were adequate for crossing. Children and adults
chose the same size temporal gaps, but children left far less time to spare
between themselves and the approaching vehicle when they crossed the
intersection. Relative to adults, children delayed in getting started and
took longer to reach the roadway.
Experience with crossing roads may help children develop strategies to anticipate the arrival of a gap and to prepare to initiate movement. Future research will focus on clarifying the possible mechanisms underlying developmental changes in the perception of affordances involving kinematic information.