Abstract
Piaget maintained that intentional search is preceded by a phase of transitional search in which infants remove covers but do not show intention to find the hidden object. If there is such a transitional phase, reports of search by infants as young as 5 mo are difficult to evaluate because the type of search has not been identified. Two experiments examined changes in search behavior in 38 infants at age 6, 7, and 8 mo. Exp I revealed that the majority of Ss displayed transitional search before intentional search. Exp II showed that Ss' awareness of the hidden object developed gradually; early transitional search demonstrated minimal awareness, but later transitional search revealed knowledge of the hidden object. An account of search development is given that is in close agreement with Piaget's, and caution is advised in the interpretation of studies with young infants that fail to distinguish different types of search. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 389-396 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Developmental Psychology |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1984 |
Keywords
- developmental stages of intentional search
- infants tested at 6-8 mo of age
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Demography
- Life-span and Life-course Studies