Lesson 4.3.4.3

4.3.4.3 Baillargeon's research on early infant abilities Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.3.4.3, Baillargeon's research on early infant abilities: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 3: Issues and options in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is Baillargeon's research best known for?

    • Developing the Bem Sex Role Inventory
    • Showing that children never imitate adults
    • Showing that infants cannot perceive any objects before the age of two
    • Showing that very young infants have knowledge of the physical world, using violation of expectation methods

  2. What is the violation of expectation method?

    • Measuring the chemical content of an infant's saliva
    • Measuring how much an infant cries when a parent leaves the room
    • Measuring how long infants look at events that are either consistent or inconsistent with physical expectations
    • Measuring the speed at which an infant can crawl across a surface

  3. Which measure is typically used in violation of expectation studies?

    • Looking time
    • Reaction time to a button press
    • Number of words spoken
    • Height and weight at birth

  4. What did violation of expectation studies suggest about infants and object permanence?

    • Infants understand object permanence only after learning language
    • Infants may understand that hidden objects continue to exist much earlier than Piaget proposed
    • Infants cannot understand object permanence at any age
    • Infants have no understanding of hidden objects until they are seven years old

  5. What is solidity in the context of infant knowledge?

    • The understanding that a surface must be flat to hold an object
    • The understanding that solid objects are always heavier than liquids
    • The understanding that one solid object cannot pass through another
    • The understanding that a solid object becomes liquid when heated

  6. A study shows an infant longer looking time at a ball that appears to pass through a solid wall. What does this suggest?

    • The infant was bored and looked away from the event
    • The infant preferred the colour of the wall to the ball
    • The infant expected the solid wall to block the ball, so the event was surprising
    • The infant had no expectations about the ball

  7. How does Baillargeon's research challenge Piaget's theory?

    • It shows that infants have no physical knowledge at any stage
    • It shows that Piaget's theory is entirely accurate for every infant
    • It confirms that infants cannot understand physical events until adulthood
    • It suggests that infants have physical knowledge earlier than Piaget claimed, so Piaget may have underestimated infants

  8. Why is the violation of expectation method useful with infants?

    • Infants can be tested only with written questionnaires
    • Infants must be asked to press buttons to show their knowledge
    • Infants can answer detailed questions about the physical world
    • Infants cannot speak or follow instructions, so looking behaviour gives a non-verbal measure of their understanding

  9. Which evaluation of violation of expectation research is most appropriate?

    • It shows that infants cannot learn anything before the age of two
    • It shows that looking time is always a measure of boredom
    • It provides strong evidence of early knowledge, but the interpretation of looking time can be debated
    • It proves beyond doubt that infants understand all physical rules

  10. A researcher finds that infants look longer when a toy is 'lifted' through a barrier that should have stopped it. What is the most likely explanation?

    • The infants preferred the sound of the barrier
    • The infants expected the barrier to stop the toy and found the event surprising
    • The infants were asleep during the event
    • The infants were not looking at the toy at all

  11. What does 'knowledge of the physical world' refer to in Baillargeon's work?

    • An early understanding of physical properties such as objects continuing to exist and not passing through one another
    • An understanding of the moral rules of right and wrong
    • An understanding of social rules about how people should behave
    • An understanding of gender roles in the family

  12. Why might a researcher repeat a violation of expectation study with different events?

    • To ensure that no infant looks at the event at all
    • To check that the infants' surprise is specific to physical violations rather than to any unusual event
    • To make the study take longer than necessary
    • To remove the need for control events

  13. A critic says violation of expectation results could be explained by infants simply looking longer at novel stimuli. Which evaluation does this make?

    • A proof that violation of expectation research is useless
    • A valid alternative explanation that researchers must control for in their designs
    • A confirmation that infants understand physics completely
    • A reason to abandon looking time as a measure altogether

  14. Which statement best describes what Baillargeon's research suggests about development?

    • Infants have a fully adult understanding of all physical events
    • Development in infancy is random and cannot be studied
    • Infants learn nothing about the physical world until they can talk
    • Some understanding of the physical world may be present earlier than traditional stage theories proposed

  15. In a violation of expectation study, which result would support the claim that an infant understands object permanence?

    • Shorter looking at the impossible event than at the possible event
    • Crying when the object is hidden from view
    • Equal looking at a hidden object that is present and at one that disappears
    • Longer looking at a hidden object that appears to vanish when it should still be there

  16. Which study design would best test whether infants understand that objects cannot pass through solid barriers?

    • A violation of expectation design comparing a possible event with an impossible one and measuring looking time
    • A survey asking parents whether their infants like solid toys
    • A longitudinal study of infants' height over ten years
    • A case study of one infant's language development

  17. What is a strength of Baillargeon's approach compared with Piaget's clinical method?

    • It relies on children's verbal explanations of their thinking
    • It requires children to complete long written tests
    • It cannot be replicated by other researchers
    • It is controlled and can use non-verbal measures that avoid the need for infants to answer questions

  18. Which of these is a limitation of violation of expectation research?

    • It uses only questionnaires with parents
    • It can only be used with adults and not with infants
    • It cannot test any physical knowledge at all
    • Differences in looking time may have several explanations, so the results need careful interpretation

  19. A researcher argues that infants' early physical knowledge shows that development is more continuous than Piaget suggested. Which is the strongest supporting evidence?

    • Physical knowledge shown in infants well before the ages Piaget gave for it
    • Infants who cannot yet talk showing no interest in objects
    • Adolescents reasoning about abstract hypotheses
    • Children aged seven performing conservation tasks

  20. Why do researchers use control events in violation of expectation studies?

    • To make the study run for longer so that more data are collected
    • To check that the infants' longer looking reflects the violated physical rule rather than the mere appearance of the event
    • To ensure that infants never look at the test event
    • To remove the need for a measure of looking time

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