PSYC20008 Study Guide - Final Guide: Tabula Rasa, Dishabituation, Object Permanence

• School: University of Melbourne
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC20008
• Professor: Katheirne Johnson

Document Summary

Plato: children are born with innate knowledge, emphasis on self-control. Aristotle: blank slate, all knowledge comes from experience. Infants arrive in this world with informal theories (infant informal theories): objects, actions, biology, number, space, psychology (people: classic example: possible versus impossible events (such as magic tricks) Initial knowledge is domain specific, innate, constrained, constitutes the core of mature knowledge and is task specific. Substage 1 (birth 1 month): modify reflexes integration of actions (picking something up and putting in the mouth), centered on own body. Substage 2 (1 4 months): organize reflexes, integrate actions. Substage 3 (4 8 months): repetition of actions results in pleasurable or interesting results repeat actions with motivations, object permanence. Object permanence: mastered between 6 and 9 months, understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard or touched. Substage 4 (8 12 months): begin searching for hidden objects, fragile mental representations, A-not-b error (does not follow where the object is hidden)