Infants' Understanding of Objects and Spatial Cognition

Violation-of-expectation looking-time methods

A method researchers use to test infants' object knowledge.

Unity, continuity, solidity, contact, inertia, and gravity

The object properties that infants understand.

Kellman & Spelke (1983)

Found that 4-month-olds infer object unity from motion behind occluders.

Core Knowledge Theory

Suggests that infants are born with domain-specific knowledge of objects, numbers, and space.

Characteristics of core knowledge

It is innate, limited, and provides a foundation for learning.

Xu & Carey (2004)

Found that infants fail to track hidden objects if they only differ in features (not motion).

Infant cognition

Infants rely on location and continuity rather than object properties.

Three frames of spatial reference

Egocentric (self-based), allocentric (landmark-based), absolute (cardinal directions).

Allocentric/geometric cues

Infants use these around 5-6 months (Newcombe et al., 1999; Kaufman & Needham, 2011).

Kaufman & Needham (2011)

Found that 6-month-olds dishabituate when objects move relative to the table, showing viewer-independent coding.

Disorientation task

Shows that toddlers use geometric layout but struggle to integrate landmarks (Hermer & Spelke, 1994).

Limitation of toddlers' core spatial system

They ignore walls, colors, and other features when reorienting.

Role of language in spatial integration

Language helps children combine landmarks and geometric cues into a unified representation (Shusterman et al., 2011).

Verbal cues supporting spatial learning

Phrases like 'the red wall helps' guide spatial search after disorientation.

Age language helps integrate spatial reference frames

Around 4 years old.

Core knowledge in perception and learning

It provides a foundation for understanding physical objects and space.

Allocentric spatial understanding emergence

Emerges during infancy.

Children's struggle with landmarks

Their early spatial systems are limited, but language helps overcome these limitations.