Baillargeon's Theory of Cognitive development

• What does ZPD stand for in the context of learning?

  Zone of Proximal Development
• What happens to the level and frequency of help given by experts as learners cross the ZPD?


  The help decreases as the learner becomes more competent
• What does the improvement in children's knowledge with the help of experts suggest?


  It suggests that there was a gap in their knowledge initially
• Who disagreed with Piaget's assumption about object permanence?


  Baillargeon
• What was Baillargeon's argument against Piaget's view on object permanence?


  She argued that a lack of looking for an object does not mean a lack of understanding
• What does the Violation of Expectation (VOE) research suggest about infants?


  It suggests that infants have expectations about how objects behave
• How do infants react when their expectations about object behavior are violated?


  They look at the scene for a longer time due to surprise
• What age group did Baillargeon et al. (1985) test in their study on object permanence?


  Infants aged 5-6 months
• In the possible condition of Baillargeon's study, what could be seen passing behind the window?


  A tall rabbit could be seen, but a short rabbit could not
• Why was the impossible condition considered 'impossible' in Baillargeon's study?


  Because it contradicted the understanding of object permanence
• How much longer did infants look at the impossible condition compared to the possible condition?


  1. 96 seconds longer
• What conclusion did researchers draw from the infants' longer looking time at the impossible condition?


  Infants believed the rabbit continued to exist and expected it to appear
• At what age did Baillargeon suggest infants acquire the cognitive ability of object persistence?


  At age 5 months
• What are the two cognitive abilities Baillargeon explored using the VOE method?


  Containment and support
• What does containment refer to in Baillargeon's research?


  The ability to recognize that an object remains in a container after the lid is removed
• What does support refer to in Baillargeon's research?


  The idea that an object will fall if unsupported
• What is the physical reasoning system (PRS) according to Baillargeon?


  An innate predisposition to pay attention to surprising events
• What do event categories represent in Baillargeon's theory?


  Ways in which two or more objects interact
• What limitation does Piaget's method of assessing object permanence have?


  Children may lack motor abilities and interest in the object
• How does Baillargeon's method improve upon Piaget's method?


  It requires children to simply look at the scene, removing confounding variables
• What evidence suggests that the PRS is universal?


  Innate infantile understanding and basic physical understanding developed through experience
• What did Hespos and van Marle (2012) conclude about core principles of physical understanding?


  They are present as early as we can test for them
• What distinction did Bremner draw regarding infant behavior?


  Between behavioral response and behavioral understanding
• Why might Baillargeon have overestimated the significance of her results?


  Because looking longer does not necessarily indicate understanding
• What is a challenge in drawing causal conclusions from VOE research?


  It's difficult to judge what infants actually understand
• What is perspective-taking?


  The ability to take on the viewpoint of another person
• Who developed a series of stages based on perspective-taking tasks?

  Selman
• What was the age range of children assessed by Selman in his perspective-taking study?


  4 to 6 years old
• What was the 'Holly and her kitten' task designed to assess?


  The emotional states of Holly, her father, and her friend
• What characterizes Level 0 of Selman's stages of perspective-taking?

  Children are socially egocentric and cannot take on others' perspectives
• What characterizes Level 1 of Selman's stages of perspective-taking?


  Children can take on only a single perspective at a time
• What characterizes Level 2 of Selman's stages of perspective-taking?


  Children can fully identify with another person's viewpoint but focus on one perspective