Development of the Ability to Use Recall to Guide Action, as Indicated by Infants' Performance on AB

Abstract

25 infants were tested every 2 weeks on the AB Object Permanence Task devised by Piaget, from the age when they first reached for a hidden object until they were 12 months. The delay between hiding and retrieval necessary to produce the AB error increased continuously throughout this period at an average rate of 2 sec/month, from under 2 sec at 7 1/2 months to over 10 sec by 12 months. All children displayed the AB error repeatedly over the months of testing. Large between-children differences in delay needed for the AB error were found at each age. Girls tolerated longer delays than boys. The characteristic pattern to the AB error did not vary over age or sex. Range of delay producing the AB error in any child was small. Errors disappeared when delays were reduced by 2-3 sec, and reaching became random or severely perseverative when delays were increased 2-3 sec above the level producing AB error. AB provides an index of the ability to carry out an intention based on stored information despite a conflicting habitual tendency.