OBJECT PERMANENCE IN YOUNG INFANTS

研究人员传统上声称婴儿还没有开始观察 物体在 9 或 10 个月大之前都是永久性的。 不过，初步 研究表明，5 个月大的婴儿就认识到 物体在被遮挡时继续存在。 本文描述的研究 该提案以这些初步研究的结果为基础。 三将军 问题将得到解决。 第一个涉及婴儿的表达能力 物体的物理和空间属性以及使用这些信息 推理简单的遮挡事件。 两种类型的遮挡事件 将被调查。 在其中一个中，一个静止的物体将被放置在 移动屏幕的路径。 拟议的实验将测试是否 婴儿代表有关物体的高度和位置的信息 并使用此信息来预测屏幕何时应停止。 在 第二种类型的遮挡序列，物体将沿着轨道行进， 其中一部分将被屏幕遮挡。 拟议的实验将 测试婴儿是否代表物体高度的信息 并使用此信息来确定对象的一部分是否 应在屏幕上方保持可见。 第二个问题与第一个问题密切相关。 这关系到婴儿的 对被遮挡物体的属性进行推断的能力。 一 实验将检查婴儿是否能够推断出物体的距离 根据其移动速度和持续时间在屏幕后面移动 它的遮挡。 其他实验将测试婴儿是否能够推断出哪里 根据特定类型的提示隐藏对象。 例如，如果 展示了一个平坦的盖子和一个带有明显肿块的盖子，婴儿会意识到 该物体必须隐藏在凹凸不平的盖子下？ 第三个问题涉及婴儿推理能力的发展 被遮挡的物体。 婴儿在什么年龄时能够理解固定装置 物体在被遮挡时继续存在，或者移动的物体继续存在 存在并在遮挡物后面追寻其轨迹？ 什么年龄做 婴儿能够表达和使用有关身体和身体的信息 被遮挡物体的空间属性？ 最后，婴儿什么时候会变成 能够推断物理特征和空间属性 被遮挡的物体？ 本提案中描述的研究对迄今为止的两个方面有影响 婴儿期研究的不相交领域：婴儿的客体概念和婴儿的 物质世界的知识。

Investigators have traditionally claimed that infants do not begin to view objects as permanent until 9 or 10 months of age. However, preliminary studies indicate that infants as young as 5 months of age recognize that objects continue to exist when occluded. The research described in this proposal builds on the results of these initial studies. Three general issues will be addressed. The first concerns infants' ability to represent the physical and spatial properties of objects and to use this information to reason about simple occlusion events. Two types of occlusion events will be investigated. In one, a stationary object will be placed in the path of a moving screen. The proposed experiments will test whether infants represent information about the height and location of the object and use this information to predict when the screen should stop. In the second type of occlusion sequence, an object will travel along a track, part of which will be occluded by a screen. The proposed experiments will test whether infants represent information about the height of the object and use this information to determine whether a portion of the object should remain visible above the screen. The second issue is closely related to the first. It concerns infants' ability to make inferences about properties of occluded objects. One experiment will examine whether infants can infer the distance an object travels behind a screen, based on its speed of movement and the duration of its occlusion. Other experiments will test whether infants can infer where an object is hidden, based on specific types of cues. For instance, if shown a flat cover and a cover with a distinct lump, will infants realize that the object must be hidden under the lumpy cover? The third issue concerns the development of infants' reasoning about occluded objects. At what age do infants understand that a stationary object continues to exist when occluded, or that a moving object continues to exist and pursues its trajectory behind an occluder? At what age do infants become able to represent and use information about the physical and spatial properties of occluded objects? Finally, when do infants become able to make inferences about the physical features and spatial properties of occluded objects? The research described in this proposal has implications for two, hitherto disjoint areas of infancy research: infants' object concept, and infants' knowledge of the physical world.