Baillargeon - AQA Psychology

Which research method did Baillargeon develop to investigate infant knowledge of the physical world?

• Violation of expectation (VOE) method

• Longitudinal observation method

• Cross-sectional survey method

• Naturalistic observation method

What ability does the violation of expectation (VOE) method primarily test in infants?

• Object permanence

• Language development

• Social attachment

• Emotional regulation

What is the main difference between the expected and unexpected events in Baillargeon's VOE experiments?

• The unexpected event violates physical laws, while the expected event does not.

• The expected event is more interesting to infants.

• The unexpected event is always longer in duration.

• The expected event involves a new object.

Why do researchers measure how long babies look at an event in VOE studies?

• Longer looking times suggest surprise or interest in unexpected events.

• Babies always look longer at familiar objects.

• Shorter looking times indicate better memory.

• Looking time is unrelated to cognitive development.

What does Baillargeon's research suggest about infants' understanding of the physical world?

• Infants have a well-developed understanding of physical laws from an early age.

• Infants do not understand object permanence until age 2.

• Infants only learn about the physical world through language.

• Infants cannot distinguish between possible and impossible events.

How does Baillargeon's explanation of infant abilities challenge Piaget's theory?

• It suggests infants have object permanence earlier than Piaget proposed.

• It agrees with Piaget on all points.

• It claims infants cannot reason about objects at all.

• It emphasises the role of social factors

Why might the VOE method not be an entirely valid way to study young children's understanding of the physical world?

• Looking time may not always reflect cognitive understanding.

• It measures only language skills.

• It is only used with adults.

• It does not involve any objects.

What is a key strength of Baillargeon's research?

• It provides strong evidence for early cognitive development.

• It ignores the role of physical experience.

• It only studies older children.

• It recognises the importance of social factors in development.

In the context of Baillargeon's research, what does 'containment' refer to?

• The idea that an object will remain where it is unless moved.

• The ability to recognize faces.

• The process of language acquisition.

• The development of emotional attachment.

What limitation of the VOE method is mentioned in the evaluation?

• It may not measure a true change in cognitive abilities.

• It is the only method available.

• It always produces the same results.

• It is only used in animal studies.