Question

A father puts his 5-month-old infant in his crib and then leaves the room. With which of the

following statements would Piaget be MOST likely to agree?
A) The infant can mentally represent his father.
B) The infant fails to comprehend that his father still exists.
C) The infant knows that his father still exists but cannot remember what his father looks
like.
D) The infant knows that his father still exists but does not know how to get his father to
come back in her room.

Answer 1

Piaget would likely agree that a 5-month-old infant does not comprehend that the father still exists when he leaves the room, as it is around 8 months that infants reliably show object permanence.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Jean Piaget's theories on cognitive development, a 5-month-old infant is in the sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about 2 years old. During this period, a key conceptual milestone is the development of object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible. However, it isn't until around 8 months that infants reliably demonstrate object permanence. Therefore, Piaget would most likely agree with the statement that at 5 months old, the infant fails to comprehend that his father still exists once out of sight (B).