W7 Flashcards
What is the core knowledge?
Knowledge all humans are born with.
What are some examples of core knowledge systems?
Objects, Numbers, Agents, Place, Shape/Form, Social partners.
What are domain-general mechanisms?
One system fits all purposes - a versatile tool of the mind.
What are domain-specific mechanisms?
Cognitive processes specialized for processing specific types of information.
What are the key principles of the Core Object System?
Cohesion: Objects are unified wholes.
Continuity: Objects in motion continue their trajectory.
Contact: Objects move due to physical interaction.
What research styles are used to measure core knowledge?
Developmental research (changes over time).
Comparative research (human vs. animals).
Cross-cultural research (universality).
How did researchers study infants’ understanding of objects?
Violation-of-expectation looking-time tasks, where infants look longer at impossible events.
What is unity?
An object’s perceived wholeness.
How do 4-month-old infants perceive unity in partly hidden objects?
Infants infer object unity by analyzing movement; occluded elements moving together suggest a single object.
How do 4-month-old infants use continuity to infer object number?
Infants use spatiotemporal continuity.
Infants expect objects to move continuously and persist over time. If an object moves behind an occluder and reappears smoothly, they infer it is the same object. If two objects appear in separate places without visible movement, infants look longer, showing surprise at the violation of continuity.
How do infants perceive solidity?
By 6–8 months, infants expect objects to be solid and not pass through others.
How do 8-month-old infants understand contact and inertia?
Infants expect objects to move only when contacted, demonstrating an understanding of inertia.
How do 4-month-old infants understand gravity and support?
Infants expect unsupported objects to fall and show surprise when they appear to float.
What is imprinting?
A strong social attachment to the first moving object encountered.
Can newborns possess basic object knowledge?
Yes, newborn chicks prefer a complete rectangle after seeing a moving occluded shape.
What observations support the theory of core knowledge regarding object understanding?
Very young infants and newborn animals demonstrate innate object knowledge.
What are the principles of the theory of core knowledge?
- Evolution-endowed knowledge.
- Systems operate distinctly.
- Systems persist throughout life.
- Systems are limited but support learning.
What are the limits of core object knowledge in infants?
At 10 months, infants struggle to track hidden objects and do not expect multiple objects behind a screen.
What are the frames of reference for representing space?
Egocentric: Relative to self.
Landmark-based: Relative to objects.
Allocentric: Relative to fixed environmental features.
How do 5-month-old infants use geometric properties to locate objects?
Infants encode location using room geometry and look longer when expected locations change.
How did Kaufman & Needham (2011) test spatial representation in infants?
Infants tracked an object’s location relative to a table, proving allocentric representation.
What spatial ability do infants develop by 6 months?
By 6 months, infants encode spatial information independently of their viewpoint.
How do animals use spatial representations to navigate, based on disorientation tasks?
Disoriented animals navigate using geometric information rather than landmarks.
What did Hermer & Spelke (1994) find about toddlers’ ability to combine landmarks and geometric information?
Toddlers fail to use landmarks when searching for hidden objects, relying on geometric cues instead.
How do 18-24-month-old children navigate?
They prioritize geometric spatial information (layout, distances, directions) over non-geometric landmarks.
How does language affect spatial behaviour in children, according to the landmark study?
Language helps children use relevant landmarks for navigation.
How does language influence spatial behaviour in children?
Language integrates geometric and landmark information into a unified spatial representation.
