Are A-not-B errors caused by a belief about object location?
Eight- to 12-month-olds might make A-not-B errors, knowing the object is in B but searching at A because of ancillary (attention, inhibitory, or motor memory) deficits, or they might genuinely believe the object is in A (conceptual deficit). This study examined how diligently infants searched for a hidden object they never found. An object was placed in A twice, and then in B. In a different task the object was placed beside A twice, and then in B. Infants made more A-not-B errors in the former task, and perseverating infants searched diligently in A rather than in B. Infants seemed to believe the object was in A, suggesting that both a conceptual deficit and ancillary deficits account for A-not-B errors.
Ruffman
Ted
T
Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, UK. tedr@sussex.ac.uk
Slade
Lance
L
Sandino
Juan Carlos
JC
Fletcher
Amanda
A
D001288:Attention; D002657:Child Development; D003469:Culture; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009039:Motion Perception; D002666:Psychology, Child; D013028:Space Perception