Research Paper Example: Object Permanence in 4 Month Old Babies

This paper is on the topic of object permanence in  4 month old babies and how it differs from the conclusion of the object permanence stage in Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. This study was done to better understand the rapidly growing minds of infants and to argue that Piaget’s conclusion was not from lack of object permanence, but From lack of ability to perform coordinated actions. The purpose of the research described in this paper is to show evidence of object permanence in  four month old infants and to reduce the number of variables that were present in Piaget’s experiment to provide a more accurate result (Baillargeon, 1987, p. 655). The researcher’s hypothesis is that infants it could show object permanence if the number of variables are reduced allowing for less necessary controlled actions. This experiment is similar to that used by another researcher named Baillargeon in how it was constructed.

Methods

This experiment was conducted by using 24 infants ranging in ages of four months to 5 months. Half of these infants were designated to an experimental conditioning center and the other half to the control. Five infants were excluded from the experiment due to various causes. Parents were contacted by letters and follow up phone calls and they were offered reimbursement for their travel expenses, but were not compensated for their child’s participation. The apparatus that was used consisted of a large wooden box in which there was an opening facing the infant. The interior of the box was painted black and was decorated with pink and green stripes. At the center of the apparatus was a silver cardboard screen and at the lower edge of the screen it was affixed to a thick metal rod. By rotating the rod an experimenter could rotate the screen back and forth showing and hiding the yellow box. The screen would be lifted for 10 seconds at a time. Both groups were tested twice one with the yellow box behind the screen and one without (Baillergeon, 1987, p. 657). They were judged on their reactions and how long they were interested with the apparatus. 

Results

The results of this experiment were that the infants in the experimental condition looked much longer at the yellow box behind the screen then when they were presented with the screen with no box behind it. This suggests that they understood that the box continued to exist after it was occluded by the screen and that the screen could not move through the space occupied by the excluded box. The infants in the control condition who were not shown a box either time tended to look equally as long for both times. This shows that contrary to the 1954 experiment that Piaget conducted, infants as young as four months of age understood that an object continues to exist when it is hidden (Baillergeon, 1987, p. 659).

Conclusion

The major conclusion drawn by the author and researcher is that object permanence is present in infants as young as four months of age previously thought to only be present in infants as young as nine months of age. These results mean for the real world  that young infants learn and perceive things at a very young age. Object permanence is very important in our everyday lives. For babies, it marks the beginning of understanding abstract concepts. For us, it helps us perceive the world around us and aids in memory and language development. Without object permanence we would view the world differently and struggle thinking outside the box.