Ahmed is a normally developing one-year-old watching a magic act. The magician he is observing has just rolled a ball into what looks like a solid wall. However, when the ball reached the wall, the ball appeared to roll through it. According to research findings by Baillargeon, one would expect that Ahmed's most likely reaction would involve

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Baillargeon's research has shown that infants as young as three and a half months old are capable of understanding basic principles of object permanence, which is the idea that objects still exist even when they are out of sight. Therefore, when Ahmed sees the ball appear to go through the wall, he may be surprised since it goes against his understanding of object permanence. This surprise is likely to lead to longer and more focused staring at the spot where the ball appeared to go through the wall. Thus, the most likely reaction to the magic act would be surprise, followed by staring at the spot where the ball went through the wall.

Ahmed Is a Normally Developing One-Year-Old Watching a Magic Act