the object concept and mental representations

Question 1

define object permanence

Answer 1

objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight
-maintain physical properties
-subject to physical laws

Question 2

what is necessary for the object concept

Answer 2

mental representations

Question 3

what age is the sensorimotor stage

Answer 3

0-2 years

Question 4

when is object permanence attained

Answer 4

12 months

Question 5

when are full internal representations attained

Answer 5

18-24 months

Question 6

when does reflex activity occur

Answer 6

0-1 months

Question 7

what is reflex activity

Answer 7

practice innate reflexes e.g. sucking

Question 8

when do primary circular reactions occurr

Answer 8

1-4 months

Question 9

what are primary circular reactions

Answer 9

simple behaviours derived from basic reflexes e.g. thumb sucking
focused on body

Question 10

when do secondary circular reactions occur

Answer 10

4-10 months

Question 11

what are secondary circular reactions

Answer 11

secondary behaviours
focus on objects
begin to change surroundings intentionally

Question 12

when does coordination of second circular reactions occur

Answer 12

10-12 months

Question 13

what are secondary circular reactions

Answer 13

engagement with objects using a variety of actions
combine actions to achieve goals (means end behaviours)

Question 14

when do a not b errors occur till

Answer 14

12 months

Question 15

when do tertiary circular actions begin

Answer 15

12-18 months

Question 16

what are tertiary circular reactions

Answer 16

repetitive behaviours
understand objects through trial and error
improvements in problem solving

Question 17

what do internal representations allow

Answer 17

solve novel problems insightfully

Question 18

when do children begin to search for objects according to Piaget

Answer 18

8-9 months

Question 19

when does goal-directed structured behaviour occur

Answer 19

stage 6

Question 20

what are critiques of Piaget

Answer 20

uses observational methods, sometimes with own children

Question 21

what are confounds in Piaget’s studies

Answer 21

-motor coordination and planning deficits
-memory deficits
-communication may be biased by cues

Question 22

when may younger infants show some evidence of mental representations

Answer 22

by simplifying procedure in experimental studies

Question 23

who made design tweaks to produce different results for A not B error

Answer 23

Butterworth
Smith and Thelen

Question 24

what were Butterworth’s three conditions

Answer 24

-normal design
-covered but visible
-visible and uncovered

Question 25

what did Butterworth find

Answer 25

errors in all 3 conditions, even when the object was visible

Question 26

what did Butterworth conclude

Answer 26

Reflects lack of coordination, not necessarily lack of object permanence

Question 27

how did smith and thelen change method of a not b error

Answer 27

had infant stand instead of sit during b trial

Question 28

what did smith and thelen find and why

Answer 28

10month old performed like a 12 month old - standing made A position less salient

Question 29

what other methodological changes to the a not b error have been done

Answer 29

darkness rather than occlusion by other objects
taking away necessity of reaching
violation of expectation

Question 30

what happened when using darkness instead of occlusion

Answer 30

Infants as young as 5m will grasp for out of sight objects (Bower and Wishart, 1972)

Question 31

what did Bower (1982) do

Answer 31

Infants a few months old, shown object, screen moved in front of object, then returned to original position
2 conditions: Object still in place versus empty space
Monitored child’s heart rate

Question 32

what did bower find

Answer 32

faster heart rate (more surprise) in second (empty) condition

Question 33

Experimental conditions Baillargeon et al

Answer 33

experimental - box behind the drawbridge
control- box next to the drawbridge

Question 34

results of Baillargeon et al

Answer 34

experiment - prefrence for impossible event
control - only those who saw 180 event first showed preference

Question 35

conclusion from Baillargeon et al

Answer 35

Infants expected the screen to stop against the box
Infants understood the box continued to exist

Question 36

why is the VOE approach limited

Answer 36

Only indicates limited awareness of events
Or perceptual preference for novelty, but not understanding
Depends on what we’re using (e.g. overall looking time versus social looking…)
Do looking preferences really tell us about what babies know?

Question 37

method of Clifton et al (1991)

Answer 37

Presented 6m olds with small (required 1 hand grasp) and large (2 hand grasp) objects
Each object made identifying sound

Question 38

findings of Clifton et al

Answer 38

Infants made appropriate grip to reach for objects in darkness

Question 39

conclusions clifton et al

Answer 39

reach for objects based on mental representations

Question 40

when is reaching action slower

Answer 40

for precise action

Question 41

How did Willats display evidence of planned actions in 9 month olds

Answer 41

toy out of reach on a cloth
cloth and toy blocked by barrier
children performed actions to get toy

Question 42

How did Meltzoff and Moore display deferred imitation

Answer 42

Some infants saw adult make facial gesture, some saw neutral expression
Day later, those who saw gesture were more likely to perform it to a neutral face

Question 43

how old were infants in Meltzoff and Moore’s experiments

Answer 43

6 weeks old

Question 44

what did Meltzoff find in 14 and 16 month olds

Answer 44

Experimenter performed series of actions with objects
Both ages more likely to reproduce observed actions than those who did not see them

Question 45

how is there evidence for deferred imitation in 6 months olds

Answer 45

Additional 6m-olds given 6 repetitions of actions
6m now score significantly higher than control