Object permanence in child and chimpanzee

Abstract

In a repeated-measures design, two infant chimpanzees and three human infants were tested in like manner using the Uzgiris and Hunt (1975) stepwise assessment instrument for the development of object permanence in human infants. Comparisons between chimpanzee and human subjects showed similarities in the number of steps achieved, in the order and rate of achieving the steps, and in the detailed characteristics of searching behavior. These results suggest that the course of development of the concept of object permanence, as described by Piaget, is a very general one.

Object permanence in cats and dogs

“…The present tasks are the same as those used with infants; this is necessary-otherwise, as Wood et al (1980) point out, task specifics must becloud interpretations and comparisons. Yet there has never been a formal methodological control for "clever Hans" effects in any human or primate research employing those tasks, even though presentations inevitably vary at least a little from trial to trial.…”

Object permanence in four species of psittacine birds: An African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), an Illiger mini macaw (Ara maracana), a parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus), and a cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)

“…The criticism contained in the second issue is more difficult to counter (see General Discussion); however, the invariance of the procedures ensures that the effects of learning, training, and memory would influence the results for all subject species equally. Furthermore, standardized tasks such as those of Uzgiris and Hunt prevent the variations in experimental design between laboratories that often render ambiguous the results of other comparative studies (see Wood et al, 1980; note also Bateson, 1979;Kroodsma, 1982;Kroodsma, Baker, Baptista, & Petrinovich, 1984). …”

“…Moreover, experiments based on the Piagetian framework directly measure levels of performance on specific tasks that are often easily adaptable for use with many species (Chevalier-Skolnikoff, 1989). A series of tasks designed by Uzgiris and Hunt (1975;see Appendix) to compare capacities for object permanence in developing human infants has, for example, also been used in animal studies (e.g., chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes: Hallock & Worobey, 1984;Wood, Moriarty, Gardner, & Gardner, 1980;lowland gorillas, Gorilla gorilla: Redshaw, 1978; for a review of other animal studies, see Dore & Dumas, 1987).…”

Object permanence tests on gibbons (Hylobatidae).

“…Inadvertent cues from the experimenter when performing experiments face-to-face to the subject-such as eye gaze or subtle body movements-might help subjects to find the correct response (e.g., Wood, Moriaty, Gardner, & Gardner, 1980). To exclude this possibility, experimenters have to control their body movements very consciously when performing experiments.…”