Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
Published on: February 8, 2019
Factors affecting infants' manual search for occluded objects and the genesis of object permanence
M Keith Moore1, Andrew N Meltzoff
1Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, Box 357920, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, United States. mkmoore@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
Two experiments systematically examined factors that influence infants' manual search for hidden objects (N=96). Experiment 1 used a new procedure to assess infants' search for partially versus totally occluded objects. Results showed that 8.75-month-old infants solved partial occlusions by removing the occluder and uncovering the object, but these same infants failed to use this skill on total occlusions. Experiment 2 used sound-producing objects to provide a perceptual clue to the objects' hidden location. Sound clues significantly increased the success rate on total occlusions for 10-month-olds, but not for 8.75-month-olds. An identity development account is offered for why infants succeed on partial occlusions earlier than total occlusions and why sound helps only the older infants. We propose a mechanism for how infants use object identity as a basis for developing a notion of permanence. Implications are drawn for understanding the dissociation between looking time and search assessments of object permanence.
More Related Videos
06:07Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
05:35Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
The Nativist Approach
Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development
Attachment
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Naturalistic Observations