A researcher shows the same toy car to three babies, Rowan, Micah and Tia. Each baby reaches for the car and plays with it. Then, while each baby is watching, the researcher completely hides the car beneath an opaque, smooth-sided container.
| Baby | Behaviour after the car is hidden |
|---|---|
| Rowan | Tries to lift the container and reaches beneath its edge |
| Micah | Looks away and makes no attempt to find the car |
| Tia | Watches the container and repeatedly touches its sides, but her fingers slip and she cannot lift it |
Using the results, explain what the behaviour of each baby suggests about whether they have developed object permanence.
Explain one change the researcher could make to obtain a more valid conclusion about Tia's object permanence.
104 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Psychology 2.2 Theories/Explanations, covering 2.2.1 Piaget's four invariant stages, 2.2.2 Assimilation and accommodation, 2.2.3 Object permanence, animism, egocentrism, 2.2.4 Decentration, reversibility, conservation; criticisms, 2.2.5 Cognitive Development research study: Piaget (1952), 2.2.6 Dweck's fixed and growth mindsets, 2.2.7 Willingham's learning styles and meaning; criticisms, and 2.2.8 Learning research study: Blackwell et al. (2007). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.