Question 1

What did research by Baillargeon examining infants' attention to a screen that rotated into the space occupied by hidden objects that were either tall or short demonstrate about infants' thinking about objects?

Accepted Answer

Baillargeon's research demonstrated that infants have some understanding of object permanence and can reason about the characteristics of unseen objects, such as their size, as evidenced by their attention to the screen's movement.

Question 2

The violation-of-expectancy procedure is founded on the expectation that infants:

Accepted Answer

The violation-of-expectancy procedure is based on the idea that infants will show more interest in events that contradict their existing knowledge or expectations, indicating surprise or curiosity.

Question 3

A 6-month-old infant is trying very hard to reach a colorful rattle that is on the floor in front of her. The infant's mother mistakenly drops a blanket over the rattle, concealing it from the infant. The infant reacts by looking away from the covered rattle and picking up another nearby toy. How would Piaget attribute the infant's reaction?

Accepted Answer

The infant's reaction is consistent with Piaget's theory that infants under 8 months lack object permanence, meaning they do not understand that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight.

Question 4

Research examining young infants' reaching for small and large objects in a darkened room demonstrated that young infants:

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that young infants can reach for objects in the dark, indicating they have some understanding of the characteristics of objects even when they are not visible, suggesting cognitive processing beyond immediate sensory input.

Question 5

Research by Meltzoff in which 18-month-olds observed either an adult or a mechanical device pull at two ends of a dumbbell demonstrated that children can learn by imitating the:

Accepted Answer

Meltzoff's research showed that 18-month-olds can understand and imitate the intentions behind adults' actions, not just the actions themselves. They imitated the intended action of the adult, even if the adult failed to complete it, indicating an understanding of the adult's intention.

Question 6

Which of the following statements best describes researchers' current view of young infants' ability to mentally represent objects?

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that young infants can mentally represent objects and act on these representations, as shown by their ability to anticipate object behavior and respond to changes in object properties.

Question 7

A father puts his 5-month-old infant in his crib and then leaves the room. With which of the following statements would Piaget be MOST likely to agree?

Accepted Answer

Piaget would likely agree that the infant fails to comprehend that his father still exists because, according to his theory, infants in the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) lack object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Question 8

Research by Baillargeon in which infants looked longer at a screen that rotated 180 degrees than at a screen that rotated up and stopped at the top of a box used the paradigm in the test of whether the infants were able to mentally represent the box.

Accepted Answer

The research by Baillargeon used the violation-of-expectancy paradigm, where infants look longer at events that violate their expectations, indicating they have some mental representation of the objects involved.

Question 9

Research demonstrating that young infants reach for objects in the dark is evidence of their:

Accepted Answer

This behavior suggests that infants understand that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, indicating a conception of object permanence.

Question 10

_________is the first concept to develop as infants learn about objects being able or not being able to support each other.

Accepted Answer

Infants first learn to understand the concept of whether or not there is contact between objects, which is fundamental to their understanding of support and balance.

Question 11

Piaget developed his concept of object permanence by observing:

Accepted Answer

Piaget observed that young infants do not search for objects that are hidden, indicating they lack the understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, which he termed object permanence.

Question 12

The active-child framework is best exemplified by:

Accepted Answer

Instrumental conditioning involves the child actively engaging with their environment to learn through consequences, exemplifying the active-child framework.

Question 13

Research by Meltzoff and colleagues indicates that very young children are able to learn from what kind of models?

Accepted Answer

Meltzoff's research suggests that very young children can learn from both children and adults, demonstrating the ability to imitate and learn from a variety of social models.

Question 14

Research by Baillargeon in which 4½-month-old infants were shown a screen that apparently rotated through a box and a screen that rotated up and stopped at the top of the box demonstrated that infants:

Accepted Answer

Infants looked longer at the impossible event (screen rotating 180 degrees through the box), indicating they were surprised and had some understanding of object permanence.

Question 15

A 6-month-old infant watches as his sister hides behind a door. While the infant is turned away from his sister for a moment, the sister moves from behind the door and hides under a bed. Suddenly, the wind pushes the partially open door even further open, until it touches the wall. The 6-month-old is MOST likely to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of A 6-month-old infant watches as his sister...

Question 16

Which of the following statements about how infants learn about gravity is true?

Accepted Answer

Infants start with a basic understanding of gravity and gradually build on this concept over their first year, developing more complex understandings as they grow.

Question 17

is NOT part of the social knowledge of a typical 15-month-old.

Accepted Answer

The belief that only humans can have intentions and goals is not part of the social knowledge of a typical 15-month-old.

Question 18

Piaget believed that young infants' failure to reach for a hidden object indicated that they:

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that infants' failure to reach for a hidden object indicated a lack of object permanence, meaning they were unaware of the object's continued existence once it was out of sight.

Question 19

An infant learns a new way to climb up on the living room sofa by watching his older sibling through which type of learning?

Accepted Answer

Observational learning occurs when an individual learns by watching others, as the infant does by watching the older sibling.

Question 20

An infant randomly makes many vocalizations throughout the day. Some of her vocalizations elicit no response from her parents, but several elicit laughter and hugging from her parents. Eventually, she learns to make those vocalizations in order to elicit laughter and hugs through which type of learning?

Accepted Answer

The answer of An infant randomly makes many vocalizations throughout...

Quiz 5: Perception, Action, and Learning in Infancy