Lecture 3-Understanding of the physical world

Question 1

central point

Answer 1

infants need to understand objects are predictable, they are governed by the laws of physics and mechanics

Question 2

Spelke 1990 identified what 3 principles that govern the motions of every day objects

Answer 2

principle of inertia
principle of continuity
principle of contact

Question 3

what is the principle of inertia

Answer 3

objects move smoothly in the absence of obstacles

Question 4

what is the principle of continuity

Answer 4

objects exist and move on continuous paths

Question 5

what is the principle of contact

Answer 5

an object will move if impacted by another

Question 6

spelke 1990

principle of inertia

Answer 6

compatible; object will divert as hits object or stop

incompatible; an object will not divert or stop suddenly when there is no other object

Question 7

spelke 1990

principle of continuity

Answer 7

compatible; 2 objects will not stay on their own paths
incompatible; objects cannot move from 1 point to another without traversing intervening points
no 2 objects can trace the same intersect in space and time

Question 8

spelke 1990

principle of contact

Answer 8

compatible; one block hitting another will cause the block to be launched
incompatible; objects will not move if not prompted by another

Question 9

spelke et al 1992
experiment 1
4 months

Answer 9

principle of continuity
infants shown ball dropping but cannot see where it lands as a screen is raised
consistent event- the ball stops at the next surface which is above where the ball fell at habituation
inconsistent event- the ball stops at the location it fell during habituation but is impossible and there is a shelf above it
if infants understand this principle, they should look at inconsistent event even though it was shown at hab

Question 10

Spelke et al 1992
experiment 1
control group
no motion

Answer 10

infants habituated to the display of a ball resting on a surface
consistent event-ball is located on top bar
consistent event- ball is located below bar
because of the lack of motion, the infant shows no preference as there is no violation of expectancy

Question 11

spelke et al 1992
experiment 3
2 month olds

Answer 11

principle of continuity
at hab ball rolls from A-B
consistent- ball stops at barrier
inconsistent- ball stops at same place as in hab but is impossible due to the barrier
2 month olds will look for longer at the inconsistent event as it violates their expectations

Question 12

spelke et al 1992
experiment 3
2 month olds
control group

Answer 12

at hab- ball is dropped from a height
consistent- ball is dropped by a hand to the left of the barrier by the hand
consistent-ball is dropped on right side of the barrier
no preference in looking times as both events are possible

Question 13

spelke et al. 1992
experiment 4
4 months old

Answer 13

principle of inertia
at hab a ball is dropped from a height onto a barrier
consistent- ball stops at bottom surface
inconsistent- ball stops in mid air where it was at habituation
infants should look longer at the impossible event

Question 14

spelke et al. 1992
experiment 4
control group

Answer 14

at hab infants are shown the ball being held by a hand and stops at the barrier
consistent- the ball is held to the bottom surface
consistent- the ball is held in mid air where the barrier would be but isn’t
babies show no looking preference because all are possible

Question 15

spelke et al. 1992

results overall

Answer 15

understanding of the principles of continuity and solidarity is in place around 2 months old whereas inertia is about 4 months old.
Infants knowledge of inanimate objects is sophisticated from young, it does not require experience apart from inertia-this is innate but becomes more developed

Question 16

ball 1973
understanding of the principles that govern motion
12 months old

Answer 16

at habituation- a circle is protruding from the right hand side of a block, infants see C slide from left to right stopping behind A; the circle is launched
OR infants see C behind B and circle is launched to right without being hit by C
Infants must have assumed the launching event at the first condition
A launching event could not have happened as C was not touching the circle

Question 17

leslie + keeble 1987

understanding of the principles that govern object motion-6 months

Answer 17

causal event; no delay before launch
hab- a black block hits a white and is launched
test- same as hab but roles are reversed
non-causal event; delay before launch
hab- there is a delay before launch
test- same as hab but reversed

Question 18

leslie + keeble 1987
understanding of the principles that govern object motion-6 months
results

Answer 18

the role of the black and white blocks change, infants look longer in the reversed causal event (the most novel) but not at the reversed non-causal event due to it not being a causal event as there is a delay

Question 19

9 social cognition principles

Answer 19

cohesion
continuity 
gravity
self-propelled motion
social responsiveness
communication
emotion
good directedness
perception

Question 20

cohesion

Answer 20

people move as connected bound entities

Question 21

continuity

Answer 21

people move on connected unobstructed paths

Question 22

gravity

Answer 22

people rest and move on supporting surfaces

Question 23

self propelled motion

Answer 23

motion is not constrained by contact, we choose when we want to move

Question 24

social responsiveness

Answer 24

people respond contingently to the actions of social partners

Question 25

communication

Answer 25

people supply social partners with information

Question 26

emotion

Answer 26

actions are influenced by motivational intention and emotional states of mind

Question 27

good directedness

Answer 27

people to attain goals

Question 28

perception

Answer 28

actions are guided by perceptions/info taken in by environment

Question 29

Ball 1973

humans

Answer 29

replicated original study with humans and human sized objects
infants habituated to a model A half occluded behind a screen
model B walks behind the occluder from the opposite side, there is a short delay, A leaves
results; human size objects- look for longer with no contact
with real humans- no difference in looking times as humans have self-propelled motion

Question 30

imitation

meltzoff and moore 1994

Answer 30

infants as young as 40 mins old imitate human facial expressions mean that there is an innate ability to respond to human beings even though babies cannot see faces properly

Question 31

imitation

comebacks

Answer 31

fixed action pattern theory suggests that the response is a reflex HOWEVER
meltzoff+moore 1989 say it is not a reflex because if it was then infants would be born with 100s of reflexes to imitate all expressions but they dont

Question 32

imitation

oostenbroek et al. 2016

Answer 32

replicated this with real humans and infants and found that babies were just as likely to produce matching and non-matching actions in response to the adult

Question 33

teasing

reddy 1991

Answer 33

observational study with 18-24month olds
“Rebecca accidentally discovers the impact of standing in the way of the tv, so she begins to engage in the game, as soon as the tv comes on, she runs to stand in front of it”
this is an expression of ToM

Question 34

goal directed behaviour
meltzoff 1995
14-18 months old

Answer 34

Dumbell study
study looked at imitation of actions on objects
infants watched an adult either complete or not complete an action
infants given the chance to manipulate
18 month olds were just as likely to attempt completing the task even if thy hadn’t seen the adult complete it
infants were able to interpret the intentions of another person

Question 35

sensitivity to biological motion

Answer 35

shown stable dots, when put into motion they became objects
a point light source is strapped to the body where biological motion is detected
if you respond to these movements then you are differentiating between biological motion and random
show an innate understanding

Question 36

simion et al 2008

sensitivity to biological motion

Answer 36

found that detection of biological motion is an intrinsic capacity of the visual system
newborns could discriminate between biological and non displays
newborns looked longer at upright displays compared to upside down displays