Development of exploration of spatial-relational object properties in the second and third years of life

•We model development of exploration of spatial-relational object properties.•A latent growth model was constructed that fitted the data well.•The model confirms that this development follows an overlapping waves pattern.•The probability of the more complex forms of exploration increased with age.•Simpler forms do not disappear with time they just become less probable.

Within a perception–action framework, exploration is seen as a driving force in young children’s development. Through exploration, children become skilled in perceiving the affordances in their environment and acting on them. Using a perception–action framework, the current study examined the development of children’s exploration of the spatial-relational properties of objects such as the possibility of containing or stacking. A total of 61 children, belonging to two age cohorts, were followed from 9 to 24 months and from 20 to 36 months of age, respectively. Exploration of a standard set of objects was observed in five home visits in each cohort conducted every 4 months. A cohort-sequential augmented growth model for categorical data, incorporating assumptions of item response theory, was constructed that fitted the data well, showing that the development of exploration of spatial-relational object properties follows an overlapping waves pattern. This is in line with Siegler’s model (Emerging Minds, 1996), which suggested that skill development can be seen as ebbing and flowing of alternative (simple and advanced) behaviors. Although the probability of observing the more complex forms of exploration increased with age, the simpler forms did not disappear altogether but only became less probable. Findings support a perception–action view on development. Individual differences in observed exploration and their relations with other variables, as well as future directions for research, are discussed.