Six-Month-Old Infants Predict Agents' Goal-Directed Actions on Occluded Objects

Infancy : the Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
Jessica B Applin, Melissa M Kibbe

Abstract

Infants can infer agents' goals after observing agents' goal-directed actions on objects and can subsequently make predictions about how agents will act on objects in the future. We investigated the representations supporting these predictions. We familiarized 6-month-old infants to an agent who preferentially reached for one of two featurally distinct objects following a cue. At test, the objects were sequentially occluded from the infant in the agent's presence. We asked whether infants could generate action predictions without visual access to the relevant objects by measuring whether infants shifted their gaze to the location of the agent's hidden goal object following the cue. We also examined what infants represented about the hidden objects by removing one of the occluders to reveal either the original hidden object or the unexpected other object and measuring infants' looking time. We found that, even without visual access to the objects, infants made predictive gazes to the location of the agent's occluded goal object, but failed to represent the features of either hidden object. These results suggest that infants make goal-based action predictions when the relevant objects in the scene are occluded, but doing so may c...Continue Reading

References

Aug 17, 2005·Psychological Science·Yuyan Luo, Renée Baillargeon
Oct 18, 2005·Cognition·Zsuzsa Káldy, Alan M Leslie
Jun 26, 2008·Developmental Science·J Kiley HamlinAmanda L Woodward
Sep 2, 2008·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jennifer M D YoonGergely Csibra
Nov 29, 2008·Psychological Science·Amanda C Brandone, Henry M Wellman
Apr 8, 2009·Psychological Review·C R Gallistel
Jul 16, 2010·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Rachel Wu, Natasha Z Kirkham
Nov 19, 2011·Psychological Science·Melissa M Kibbe, Alan M Leslie
Feb 24, 2012·Developmental Science·Erin N Cannon, Amanda L Woodward
Oct 13, 2012·Frontiers in Psychology·Moritz M DaumGustaf Gredebäck
Dec 4, 2012·Language Learning and Development : the Official Journal of the Society for Language Development·Renée BaillargeonAmélie Bernard
Jun 19, 2013·Cognitive Psychology·Melissa M Kibbe, Alan M Leslie
Oct 15, 2013·Developmental Science·Christine Fawcett, Gustaf Gredebäck
Jan 18, 2014·Child Development·Aimee E Stahl, Lisa Feigenson
Feb 11, 2015·Developmental Science·Sheila Krogh-JespersenAmanda L Woodward
Sep 20, 2015·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Gustaf Gredebäck, Terje Falck-Ytter
Feb 24, 2016·Frontiers in Psychology·Scott J Robson, Valerie A Kuhlmeier
Mar 3, 2018·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Sheila Krogh-Jespersen, Amanda L Woodward
Mar 30, 2018·Frontiers in Psychology·Gustaf GredebäckCarin Marciszko
Apr 8, 2018·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Aimee E Stahl, Lisa Feigenson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 12, 2021·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Marianna Jartó, Ulf Liszkowski

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.