Question

A developmental psychologist studying infants' understanding of object permanence uses a method where infants see an event happen as it would normally occur. Then, the event is changed, often in a way that creates a physically impossible event. The result of this is that the infants look longer at the changed event indicating that he or she is surprised by it. Which method is being adopted here? a. Violation of expectations b. Habituation and dishabituation C. Visual preference d. Principle of persistence

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is letter A. Violation of expectations.

Explanation:

We need to pay close attention to the question, otherwise we might be tempted to choose letter B. What was described does comprise the use of habituation and dishabituation, but the name of the method used is violation of expectations. This method is based on the idea that infants will be surprised when they watch an impossible event take place. Since the event is not what the infant expected, they will show dishabituation - they will look at it for a longer period of time than they would if it were a situation they could predict. An event they have seen multiple times would cause habituation, and the infant would lose interest and look away more quickly.