In intriguing research, a team of scientists may have discovered the earliest age at which a person can reason logically: 12 months.
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In a study published [March 15] in the journal Science, [researcher Nicolo] Cesana-Arlotti and his colleagues described how they determined infants might have inference-making ability.
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Each group watched the same animation, which included such virtual objects as an umbrella, flower, smiley face and dinosaur placed in front of a black screen. The tops of each were drawn to be identical, and when the two objects flew behind the screen — say, the umbrella and the smiley face — only those tops could be seen. Suddenly, a cup scooped up one of the objects — the baby could not see which — and moved in front of the screen.
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[T]he black screen dropped to reveal the remaining object — let’s assume the umbrella — behind it. To test the babies’ logical reasoning — their ability to infer through the process of elimination that the smiley face must be in the cup — the researchers pulled a fast one. Instead of the smiley face, another umbrella appeared in the cup. Each baby, regardless of age group, reacted by looking longer at the cup.“It’s a classic paradigm,” said Cesana-Arlotti, the study’s lead author. “When something unexpected happens, the infant looks longer because their expectations have been violated.”
Read full, original post: Can a 1-year-old reason like a scientist? Yes, new research concludes.
