Baillargeon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities

Question 1

What did Baillargeon argue infants are born with?

Answer 1

An inbuilt understanding of the physical world and how it functions

Question 2

What method did Baillargeon develop in order to investigate infants knowledge of the physical world?

Answer 2

Violation of Expectation method

Question 3

What idea does the Violation of Expectation Method link to?

Answer 3

• The idea that if children are born with an understanding of how the physical world works, and that they will therefore expect certain things to happen in certain situations (e.g. the idea of gravity- if something falls off a table, it falls to the floor)
• If these things they don’t happen, they will express surprise as it violates their expectations

Question 4

Describe Baillargeon & Graber’s Rabbit Occlusion Study

Answer 4

• Showed 24 babies aged 5-6 months a tall and a short rabbit passing behind a screen with a window
• In Condition 1 (The Expected Event) the short rabbit wasn’t visible until it reached the other side of the window due to it being too short
• In Condition 2 (The Unexpected Event) the tall rabbit wasn’t visible until it reached the other side of the window despite it being tall enough

Question 5

How long on average did babies look at the Unexpected Condition in Baillargeon & Graber’s Rabbit Occlusion Study compared to the Expected Condition?

Answer 5

33 seconds compared to 25 seconds

Question 6

What are the 3 types of Violation of Expectation?

Answer 6

• Occlusion
• Containment
• Support

Question 7

What is the reasoning system called that Baillargeon proposed infants are born with, and that provides them with a base understanding of the physical world?

Answer 7

• Physical Reasoning System (PRS)

Question 8

According to Baillargeon, how do Physical Reasoning Systems become more sosphicated?

Answer 8

Through experience

Question 9

How did Baillargeon argue babies are predisposed to observe events that violate their expectations of the physical world?

Answer 9

Via their PRS, which develops through experience, meaning they are predisposed to observe events that may allow them to develop their understanding of the physical world

Question 10

By what age did Baillargeon believe infants understood Object Permanence?

Answer 10

Around 3 1/2 months

Question 11

What did Baillargeon argue babies begin to do in their first few weeks of life?

Answer 11

Identify event categories according to different ways that objects interact (e.g. occlusion, containment, support)

Question 12

How can Baillargeon’s studying of infants be criticised?

Answer 12

It relies heavily on inferences as infants can’t directly communicate, meaning their behaviour has to be interpreted

Question 13

How did Baillargeon maintain a high level of control in her Rabbit Occlusion Study?

Answer 13

• By asking parents to close their eyes and not interact with the infant, eliminating the chance of infants mimicking their parents’ cues
• By ensuring observers didn’t know which condition was the Expected or Unexpected one and therefore were unaware of the optical illusion, eliminating observer bias