Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Cognitive Science

New cognitive science research gives insight into how infants understand on-screen animated events

by Eric W. Dolan
November 30, 2021
in Cognitive Science

[Subscribe to PsyPost on YouTube to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New research published in the cognitive science journal Open Mind provides insight into how 19-month-old infants interpret animations on a screen. The study suggests that infants understand by this age that the animations they see are decoupled from their immediate environment and independent from the physical screen they appear on.

“To my mind, the way in which young infants make sense of symbolic objects in their environment is a rich topic to investigate for at least two reasons,” said study author Barbu Revencu of the Central European University.

“First, while there is a lot of research on infants’ and children’s understanding of drawings, pictures, or scale models, not much work has been dedicated to the cognitive mechanism underlying these processes. What is the input to this mechanism? And what is the output? How do we tag the drawing of a pipe as a pipe while fully aware that it is not a pipe? Is there a common process underlying our interpretation of diagrams, animations, puppet shows, and (internet) memes? Why is it the case that we use visual symbols in communication to begin with, and what information can we efficiently convey through them?”

“Second, the topic has methodological consequences for the field I am working in,” Revencu explained. “In developmental psychology, we often bring infants to the lab and show them simple animated events. We then measure their reactions to these animations under the assumption that the reactions will tell us something about infants’ underlying cognitive processes. But simple animated events are so different from the real world!”

“I am not referring only to visual differences between an animation and a real-world scene, but to the fact that animations are typically communicative while real-world scenes typically are not. If infants view animations and screens as representational, we are also testing their communicative inferences when presenting them with these stimuli, which is interesting in itself.”

In a series of experiments, the researchers tested various hypotheses about how infants interpret on-screen animations. Their first experiment confirmed that 19-month-old infants could accurately and reliably follow the trajectory of a ball as it fell off a wooden seesaw and into a box.

The researchers then had infants watch as an animated ball appeared to fall from a cartoon seesaw on a television into one of two real boxes below the screen. When asked where the ball was, the infants “often preferred to point to the screen” rather than the boxes. “When they did provide a response, however, they chose boxes at random instead of basing their answers on the side in which the ball was seen falling,” the researchers said.

The results suggest that the infants did not expect the falling animated balls to end up in real boxes. However, it is also possible that the infants did not understand that the question “where is the ball” referred to the animated ball on the screen. The researchers ruled out this possibility in their third experiment — when the real off-screen boxes were replaced with animated boxes on the TV screen, the infants overwhelmingly pointed to the correct box.

In their fourth experiment, the researchers tested whether infants accept that an event displayed on one screen can move to a different screen.

The infants viewed two different TV screens, which were placed side-by-side. One screen depicted an animated bear leaving and entering a house, while the other screen depicted an animated rabbit doing the same. Although both houses were identical, the backgrounds for each animation were noticeably different.

The researchers first confirmed that the infants had learned which animal lived on which screen, then physically moved the location of the two screens. During this process, the screens were covered and the two backgrounds were surreptitiously swapped. The screens were then uncovered and the infants were asked to identify where the animals lived. (The characters were not visible on the screen at this point.)

Infants tended to link the animated characters to their virtual environments as opposed to their physical one. In other words, they selected the screen based on its background image rather than its physical position.

The findings indicate that “that by 19 months, infants have figured out that on-screen animated events are not happening in the here-and-now,” Revencu told PsyPost.

However, “the pattern of findings only provides negative evidence for infants’ understanding of screens as representational, because it rules out alternative accounts,” Revencu explained. “Experiments 1-3 suggest that infants do not think that on-screen events can extend beyond the screen, while Experiment 4 suggests that they do not track animations by the physical device on which they are presented. While this pattern of findings is compatible with a representational understanding of animations, it would be ideal if we gathered direct evidence for the representational hypothesis as well.”

The study, “For 19-Month-Olds, What Happens On-Screen Stays On-Screen“, was authored by Barbu Revencu and Gergely Csibra.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePinSend
Previous Post

Longitudinal study finds no evidence that violent video games lead to aggression

Next Post

Study uncovers a feedback loop effect between attachment anxiety and manipulative mate retention behaviors

STAY CONNECTED

Find these awesome psychology shirts and more at the PsyPost Store!

TRENDING

Social anxiety tends to be elevated among those who suffered emotional maltreatment in childhood

New study identifies perceived mattering as a core psychological component of happy marriages

Scientists use deep learning algorithms to predict political ideology based on facial characteristics

New study hints at the characteristics of the “ideal” female breast

Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

Diversity of the gut microbiota is associated with the severity of depression

RECENT

Diversity of the gut microbiota is associated with the severity of depression

Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

New research: Brain implant can objectively measure chronic pain severity

New study hints at the characteristics of the “ideal” female breast

Our brain prefers positive vocal sounds that come from our left

Study highlights the importance of napping for memory consolidation in early childhood

People with advanced biological age are at greater risk of developing depression and anxiety, study finds

Sun avoidance and lack of vitamin D dietary intake linked to heightened anxiety among college women

Currently Playing

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Mental Health
New study sheds light on cognitive mechanisms linked to hypnosis

Chronic intake of refined carbohydrates between meals is associated with decreased cognitive performance, study finds

Cognitive Science
Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Social Psychology
Women who have larger breasts tend to have lower levels of satisfaction with their breasts, study finds

Women who have larger breasts tend to have lower levels of satisfaction with their breasts, study finds

Social Psychology
Unwanted celibacy is linked to hostility towards women, sexual objectification of women, and endorsing rape myths

Depressive symptoms tied to malevolent creativity in new study

Depression
Psychosocial stress triggers an oxytocin response in women, study finds

Oxytocin alters amygdala activation in response to angry faces in antisocial personality disorder

Cognitive Science
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.