Kevin and his mother are playing with a squeaky toy. Kevin's mother squeezes the toy in front of him and then hides it under a blanket. Kevin has fun finding the toy under the blanket and then giving it back to his mother. After several rounds of this game, Kevin's mother hides the toy behind a pillow instead of under the blanket. Rather than looking behind the pillow, however, Kevin lifts the blanket to look for the toy. Which statement is TRUE?
A) Kevin does not know the toy still exists.
B) Kevin is making the A-not-B error.
C) Kevin is approximately 6 months old.
D) All of these statements are true.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Kevin is exhibiting the A-not-B error, which is a common mistake made by infants around the age of 8 to 12 months. This error occurs when infants continue to search for an object in the location where it was previously hidden (in this case, under the blanket) even though they have seen it being hidden in a new location (behind the pillow). This shows that Kevin has a limited understanding of object permanence, which is the concept that an object still exists even when it is out of sight. Option A is incorrect because Kevin does not know the toy still exists, which is why he lifts the blanket to look for it. Option C is also incorrect because the question does not provide enough information to determine Kevin's exact age. Option D is incorrect because only option B is true.

Kevin and His Mother Are Playing with a Squeaky Toy