Object permanence — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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ModeratePsychologyObject permanenceMRCPsych Paper A

A 9-month-old repeatedly retrieves a toy from beneath a cloth on the left. After watching the toy being moved and hidden beneath a second cloth on the right, the infant again reaches towards the left-hand cloth. Which cognitive achievement is nevertheless demonstrated by the infant's purposeful search for the toy when it is no longer visible?

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Correct answer: E — Object permanence

Object permanence is the understanding that an object continues to exist when it is no longer perceived. The infant's purposeful search for the hidden toy demonstrates this emerging representation. Reaching towards its previous location is the A-not-B error, associated with still-developing working memory and inhibitory control; it does not negate the evidence of object permanence. Theory of mind concerns attributing mental states to others. Deferred imitation is reproduction of an observed action after a delay, while symbolic play involves using actions or objects to represent something else. Conservation is the later Piagetian understanding that quantity remains constant despite changes in appearance.

Reference: Munakata Y, McClelland JL, Johnson MH, Siegler RS. Rethinking infant knowledge: toward an adaptive process account of successes and failures in object permanence tasks. Psychological Review. 1997;104(4):686-713. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9337629/