Toddlers also consistently failed to recognize the importance of the shelf being inserted into the screen when searching for the ball. When asked to find the ball, however, they consistently searched in the location where they initially saw the object (Hood, et al. 2000, 1540).
These startling finds suggest the need for further research and study into this topic. Initially, research must determine whether or not these results are mistakes. While the experiment given to the toddlers was supposedly an expanded version of the infant "looking-time" experiments, perhaps the two types of experiments cannot be compared, which would lead to a false comparison of the two. Additionally, infants and toddlers' cognitive skills are significantly different. While the first experiments needed no explanation, toddlers would have to receive an explanation or instructions before they could complete the experiment. Perhaps the error was in the explanation of the experiment.
Once the researchers determine whether or not an error was made in comparing the two experiments, researchers can go on to determine the cause of the apparent lack of cognition. This could be done through an intense study of a control group of infants and toddlers along significant milestones. For example, an infant may be tested from the age of three months to four years each month to determine when the loss of object permanence knowledge occurred. These infants turned toddlers can be tested against other infants and toddlers...
While infants have suggested that they recognize an object's ability to exist when not visible, toddlers have shown confusion in grasping the same subject. If the results obtained by these studies are, indeed, correct, they will have shocking implications for the world of child psychology and child development. In order to further research the phenomenon, students must determine whether or not the results of the previous experiments were due to error and conduct a series of experiments that will monitor infants as they grow into toddlers, pinpointing the moment of skill loss. By following this proposal, researchers and scientists will be able to understand the cause of these bizarre results.
Works Cited
Baillargeon, Renee and DeVos, Julie. (1991). Object Permanence in Young Infants:
Further Evidence. Child Development. 62 (6), 1227-1246.
Baillargeon, Renee and Aguiar, Andrea. (1998). Eight-and-a-Half-Month-Old-Infants'-
Reasoning About Containment Evens. Child Development. 69(3), 636-653.
Hood, Bruce, Carey, Susan, and Prasada Sandeep. Predicting the Outcomes of Physical Events: Two-Year-olds Fail to Reveal Knowledge of Solidity and Support.…
