Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2026
06:35
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Do 9-month-olds perceive causation-at-a-distance?
1Department of Psychology, University College London, UK. a.schlottmann@ucl.ac.uk
Perception
|March 1, 2000
Summary
Nine-month-old infants show sensitivity to causation-at-a-distance. They can distinguish between events where one agent reacts to another without physical contact, suggesting early social cognition development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Perception
Background:
- Human understanding of causality distinguishes between mechanical (contact) and intentional (distance) events.
- Early infancy research explores the development of causal reasoning and social cognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate 9-month-old infants' sensitivity to causation-at-a-distance.
- To determine if infants can perceive an agent reacting to another without physical contact.
Main Methods:
- Habituation paradigm using computer-animated stimuli (red and green squares).
- Two event types: 'reaction event' (green reacts before red stops) and 'pause event' (green reacts after red stops).
- Test phase involved playing habituation movies in reverse to assess causal role changes.
Main Results:
- Infants dishabituated to the reversed 'reaction event', indicating perception of altered causal roles.
- Infants did not dishabituate to the reversed 'pause event'.
- Results suggest infants are sensitive to agent interactions occurring at a distance.
Conclusions:
- Infants demonstrate an early understanding of causation-at-a-distance.
- This sensitivity may be foundational for developing social cognition and theory of mind.
- Early causal reasoning extends beyond direct physical contact.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:53Cause and Effect
While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?
01:28Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - II
The Bradford Hill criteria serve as guidelines for establishing causative links in epidemiological research. Beyond Strength, Consistency, Specificity, and Temporality, key criteria also include Biological Gradient, Plausibility, Coherence, Experiment, and Analogy. These principles assist scientists in assessing the likelihood of causation in complex biological contexts. Below is a summary of these concepts:
01:30Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - I
The Bradford Hill criteria are a group of principles that provide a framework to determine a causal relationship between a specific factor and a disease. There are nine criteria that are pivotal in assessing causality in epidemiological studies. Here's a closer look at Strength, Consistency, Specificity, and Temporality criteria with definitions and examples:
01:22Language Development
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
01:14Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Exploration...
01:21The Nativist Approach
The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...