Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning is a form of logical thinking that uses related observations to arrive at a general conclusion. It is uncertain and operates in degrees to which the conclusions are credible. As such, inductive arguments can be weak or strong, rather than valid or invalid, and conclusions can be used to formulate testable, falsifiable hypotheses.
Inductive reasoning is common in descriptive science. A life scientist makes observations and records them. This data can be qualitative or...

The Nativist Approach

The 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...

Deductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning, or deduction, is the type of logic used in hypothesis-based science. In deductive reasoning, the pattern of thinking moves in the opposite direction as compared to inductive reasoning, which means that it uses a general principle or law to predict specific results. From those general principles, a scientist can deduce and predict the specific results that would be valid as long as the general principles are valid.
For example, a researcher can deduce specific predictions...

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

Piaget'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...

Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development

Piaget's Stage 3 of Cognitive Development

During Piaget's concrete operational stage, from ages 7 to 11, children exhibit a marked increase in logical thinking skills, specifically in relation to tangible, real-world events. This stage is characterized by the development of several essential cognitive concepts, including conservation, reversibility, and classification, all of which support the child's evolving capacity for structured thought.
Conservation and Constancy of Quantity
A significant cognitive milestone in the...

Introduction to Learning

Introduction to Learning

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice or experience, leading to long-lasting behavioral changes. This acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and requires practice or experience. For instance, mastering a skill such as surfing requires considerable practice and experience, highlighting the essential role of repeated interactions with the environment in learning.
In contrast to learned behaviors, unlearned behaviors such as crying, sexual...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

H3K4 Methylation Readers in Plants: Recognition Mechanisms and Biological Functions.

International journal of molecular sciences·2026

Same author

Identification of Pyrrolo [2,3-<i>b</i>] Pyridine Derivatives as Novel JAK1 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Same author

Bifurcate peroral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of achalasia with large epiphrenic esophageal diverticulum (with video).

Surgical endoscopy·2026

Same author

Effectiveness of Individual Exercise Versus Group Exercise in the Integration of Orthotic Treatment for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation·2026

Same author

Single-Axis Rotational Inertial Navigation Systems for USVs: A Review of Key Technologies.

Micromachines·2026

Same author

Infant representations of social relationships: the need to consider the social world.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 5, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Experience 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

Can infants make transitive inferences?

Yi Mou¹, Jordan M Province¹, Yuyan Luo¹

¹Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.

Cognitive Psychology

|December 10, 2013

Summary

Sixteen-month-old infants demonstrate early transitive reasoning skills, inferring preferences even without direct comparison. This suggests cognitive precursors to transitive inference emerge in infancy.

Keywords:

Infants Preferences Transitive reasoning

More Related Videos

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

Published on: July 17, 2021

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 5, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Experience 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

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

Published on: July 17, 2021

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Developmental Psychology
Comparative Psychology

Background:

Transitive reasoning (e.g., if A>B and B>C, then A>C) is a complex cognitive ability observed in preschool children and nonhuman animals.
The evolutionary origins of transitive reasoning suggest its presence in earlier developmental stages.
Understanding the emergence of this ability in infants provides insight into early cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether 16-month-old infants can make transitive inferences about others' preferences.
To determine if infants can infer a preference relationship (A>C) based on two other preference relationships (A>B and B>C).

Main Methods:

Infants were presented with scenarios where an agent expressed preferences between pairs of objects (A>B, B>C).
Infants' looking times and behavioral responses were recorded to infer their understanding of the agent's overall preference (A>C).
Control conditions and variations (Experiment 2) were used to support the findings and explore potential mediating factors like linear ordering.

Main Results:

Experiment 1 indicated that 16-month-old infants successfully inferred the transitive relationship (A>C) from observed pairwise preferences (A>B, B>C).
Experiment 2 provided evidence that a linear ordering of preferences (A>B>C) might facilitate this transitive inference in infants.
Control results ruled out alternative explanations for the observed infant behavior.

Conclusions:

The findings provide the first evidence for precursors of transitive reasoning abilities in 16-month-old infants.
This suggests that the cognitive foundations for transitive inference are present very early in human development.
The study highlights the sophisticated inferential capabilities of infants regarding social preferences and reasoning.