Infants and Children in Context. Tara L. Kuther

      Evaluating Sensorimotor Reasoning

      Piaget’s contributions to understanding cognitive development are invaluable. Piaget was the first scientist to examine infants’ and children’s thinking and ask what develops during childhood and how it occurs. Piaget recognized that motor action and cognition are inextricably linked, a view still accepted by today’s developmental scientists (Libertus et al., 2016).

      Piaget’s work has stimulated a great deal of research as developmental scientists have tested his theory. However, measuring the cognitive capabilities of infants and toddlers is very challenging because, unlike older children and adults, babies cannot fill out questionnaires or answer questions orally. Researchers have had to devise methods of measuring observable behavior that can provide clues to what an infant is thinking. For example, researchers measure infants’ looking behavior by determining what infants look at and for how long. Using such methods, they have found support for some of Piaget’s claims and evidence that challenges others. One of the most contested aspects of Piaget’s theory concerns his assumption that infants are not capable of mental representation until late in the sensorimotor period (Carey, Zaitchik, & Bascandziev, 2015). A growing body of research conducted with object permanence and imitation tasks suggests otherwise, as described in the following sections.