the object concept and mental representations Flashcards
define object permanence
objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight
-maintain physical properties
-subject to physical laws
what is necessary for the object concept
mental representations
what age is the sensorimotor stage
0-2 years
when is object permanence attained
12 months
when are full internal representations attained
18-24 months
when does reflex activity occur
0-1 months
what is reflex activity
practice innate reflexes e.g. sucking
when do primary circular reactions occurr
1-4 months
what are primary circular reactions
simple behaviours derived from basic reflexes e.g. thumb sucking
focused on body
when do secondary circular reactions occur
4-10 months
what are secondary circular reactions
secondary behaviours
focus on objects
begin to change surroundings intentionally
when does coordination of second circular reactions occur
10-12 months
what are secondary circular reactions
engagement with objects using a variety of actions
combine actions to achieve goals (means end behaviours)
when do a not b errors occur till
12 months
when do tertiary circular actions begin
12-18 months
what are tertiary circular reactions
repetitive behaviours
understand objects through trial and error
improvements in problem solving
what do internal representations allow
solve novel problems insightfully
when do children begin to search for objects according to Piaget
8-9 months
when does goal-directed structured behaviour occur
stage 6
what are critiques of Piaget
uses observational methods, sometimes with own children
what are confounds in Piaget’s studies
-motor coordination and planning deficits
-memory deficits
-communication may be biased by cues
when may younger infants show some evidence of mental representations
by simplifying procedure in experimental studies
who made design tweaks to produce different results for A not B error
Butterworth
Smith and Thelen
what were Butterworth’s three conditions
-normal design
-covered but visible
-visible and uncovered
what did Butterworth find
errors in all 3 conditions, even when the object was visible
what did Butterworth conclude
Reflects lack of coordination, not necessarily lack of object permanence
how did smith and thelen change method of a not b error
had infant stand instead of sit during b trial
what did smith and thelen find and why
10month old performed like a 12 month old - standing made A position less salient
what other methodological changes to the a not b error have been done
darkness rather than occlusion by other objects
taking away necessity of reaching
violation of expectation
what happened when using darkness instead of occlusion
Infants as young as 5m will grasp for out of sight objects (Bower and Wishart, 1972)
what did Bower (1982) do
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
what did bower find
faster heart rate (more surprise) in second (empty) condition
Experimental conditions Baillargeon et al
experimental - box behind the drawbridge
control- box next to the drawbridge
results of Baillargeon et al
experiment - prefrence for impossible event
control - only those who saw 180 event first showed preference
conclusion from Baillargeon et al
Infants expected the screen to stop against the box
Infants understood the box continued to exist
why is the VOE approach limited
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?
method of Clifton et al (1991)
Presented 6m olds with small (required 1 hand grasp) and large (2 hand grasp) objects
Each object made identifying sound
findings of Clifton et al
Infants made appropriate grip to reach for objects in darkness
conclusions clifton et al
reach for objects based on mental representations
when is reaching action slower
for precise action
How did Willats display evidence of planned actions in 9 month olds
toy out of reach on a cloth
cloth and toy blocked by barrier
children performed actions to get toy
How did Meltzoff and Moore display deferred imitation
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
how old were infants in Meltzoff and Moore’s experiments
6 weeks old
what did Meltzoff find in 14 and 16 month olds
Experimenter performed series of actions with objects
Both ages more likely to reproduce observed actions than those who did not see them
how is there evidence for deferred imitation in 6 months olds
Additional 6m-olds given 6 repetitions of actions
6m now score significantly higher than control
