True or false? Infants are born with the understanding that objects can exist even if they can’t be seen.

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Statement analysis begins by considering what infants know about objects from birth. 
Option 1: True. Saying that infants are born with the understanding that objects exist even when unseen would imply an innate object permanence present at birth. However, research in developmental psychology shows that object permanence develops over the first year of life and is not fully present at birth. Infants typically start to show early signs of object permanence around 4–8 months and more robust understanding around 8–12 months, with full conceptual grasp developing later. Therefore, labeling this as true overstates infant cognition at birth and is not accurate.
Option 2: False. This option aligns with established findings about object permanence: babies do not initially comprehend that unseen objects continue to exist. They gradually acquire this understanding through sensorimotor exploration, such as tracking hidden objects and peeling back layers of search behavior as they mature. The notion of an innate, born-in object permanence is contradicted by longitudinal observations of infant development, where abrupt or universal understanding at birth is not observed. Consequently, this statement accurately describes current knowledge, making the false option the correct choice within the true/false framework.

True or false? Infants are born with the understanding that objects can exist even if they can’t be seen.

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