Infants Use Compression Information to Infer Objects Weights: Examining Cognition, Exploration, and Prospective Action in a Preferential-Reaching Task
Child Development, 08/20/2012
Hauf P et al. – The present research used a preferential–reaching task to examine whether 9– and 11–month–olds (n = 144) could infer the relative weights of two objects resting on a soft, compressible platform. Experiment 1 established that infants reached preferentially for the lighter of 2 boxes. In Experiments 2–4, infants saw 2 boxes identical except in weight resting on a cotton wool platform. Infants reached prospectively for the lighter box, but only when their initial exploratory activities provided critical information.
