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What we don't know about what babies know: Reconsidering psychophysics, exploration, and infant behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2024

Karen E. Adolph Open the ORCID record for Karen E. Adolph [Opens in a new window]  and
Mark A. Schmuckler Open the ORCID record for Mark A. Schmuckler [Opens in a new window]
Karen E. Adolph*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA karen.adolph@nyu.edu https://www.nyuactionlab.com/
Mark A. Schmuckler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, Canada; mark.schmuckler@utoronto.ca https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/labs/infant/
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Researchers must infer “what babies know” based on what babies do. Thus, to maximize information from doing, researchers should use tasks and tools that capture the richness of infants' behaviors. We clarify Gibson's views about the richness of infants' behavior and their exploration in the service of guiding action – what Gibson called “learning about affordances.”

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e121
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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