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object permanence

knowledge of the continued existence of objects even when they are not directly perceived. According to Jean Piaget, object permanence develops gradually in infants during the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. Milestones that indicate the acquisition of object permanence include reaching for and retrieving a covered object (about 8 months), retrieving an object at Location B even though it was previously hidden several times at Location A (the A-not-B task; about 12 months), and removing a series of covers to retrieve an object, even though the infant only witnessed the object being hidden under the outermost cover (invisible displacement; about 18 months). Recent research using nonreaching tasks suggests that infants display some knowledge of object permanence at an earlier age than that suggested by Piaget.

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Psychology term of the day

March 29th 2024

resource theory

resource theory

a theory of interpersonal relationships holding that the amount of resources (e.g., information, love, status, money, goods, services) possessed by each of the participants greatly affects the nature of their relationship. Individuals with more resources than they require for themselves can distribute their excess to the other party and thus have power over the other to the extent that the other needs the resources. It is proposed that withholding needed resources can heighten conflict, whereas the relationship is harmonious when each party is equally powerful and cooperative in the exchange of resources. [proposed in 1974 by U.S. psychologists Edna B. Foa (1937–  ) and Uriel G. Foa (1916–1990)]