Do Infants Consider If Others Can View Objects When Interpreting Actions - Essay Example

Review: Do Infants Consider If Others Can View Objects When Interpreting Actions A 2004 study by Lun and Baillargeon examined the interpretation of other’s actions by infants. The authors cite evidence that even during the first year of life, children attempt to make sense of the actions of others. Supporting research includes findings that agent goals and disposition (preference tendencies) are taken into account when infants interpret the actions of the agent. Additionally, children within infant age have been shown to grasp an agent’s false beliefs about their environment, such as when an object is moved from the agent’s original place of knowledge, but the new information is provided to the infant.

Overall, the reviewed research suggests that infants use the interpretation of the environment used by an agent when interpreting the actions of that person. The investigators utilized two experiments in this study. Experiment 1 used a random design (2x2) and sought to gather information about an infant’s consideration of an agent’s false beliefs and disposition toward objects during action interpretation. This experiment featured 28 healthy infants, and the independent variable was the knowledge of the environment by the agent (two objects visible, one hidden throughout).

The dependent variable was the amount of time infants looked at the object after the agent’s first interaction with the environment. Looking times were expected to be similar to agent-trial results when the infant was placed in the agent’s place after a blocked object interaction. The findings confirmed this prediction, suggesting that infants did comprehend preference choices and tendencies. Experiment 2 utilized the same design as the first, except that the infants in this experiment (14 in total) also received a preview trial.

The results matched those found in the first experiment, which indicates that the viewing times in the first experiment were not due to confusion and that the infants did recognize the agent’s view as being incomplete. The findings of these experiments demonstrate the high level of understanding of which 12.5 month old infants are capable. Infants appear to take not only the physical perspective of the agent into consideration when interpreting their actions, but also the dispositional tendencies of the agent based on previously observed evidence.

The results have implications for interpreting the findings of previous research based on agent action comprehension of infants, as well as for future research in the field. Additionally, this research adds to a debate that is currently taking place regarding intentional theory, and whether or not the role of an internal system is more impactful on infant comprehension as compared to experiences. One major limitation of the study is that the authors fail to discuss any limitations of the study.

No investigation is perfect, and this lack of self-evaluation is somewhat unnerving, even though there is little to criticize. A larger sample would have improved the validity of these findings, as experiments with subject counts under 30 tend to be less robust than their larger counterparts. This study provides new information regarding the interpretation of others’ actions by infants, and supports the role of both abstract comprehension and observation in the comprehension of another’s vantage point.

The authors have provided a large amount of discussion regarding the results, and examine the implications as they apply to several areas of theoretical interest. The interpretation of these results is thorough, and appears to have an impact on several other pieces of research as well as theoretical discussion. The extended applicability and potential fruitfulness of these results are largely the products of the strong design of the study.ReferenceLuo, Y., & Baillargeon, R. (2007). Do 12.5-month-old infants consider what objects others can see when interpreting their actions?

Cognition, 105, 489-512.