Glossary / Lexicon

Directed groping refers to the stage when the child begins to perform motor experiments in order to see what will happen. During directed groping, a child will vary his movements to observe how the results will differ. The child learns to use new means to achieve an end and discovers that he can pull objects toward himself with the aid of a stick or string, or tilt objects to get them through the bars of his playpen. A term coined by Jean Piaget.