Where and how many? Spatial and numerical representations in toddlers’ memory for hidden objects

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Cognitive Processes

Abstract

The ability to process and remember multiple objects over occlusion is fundamental for a coherent perception of the world. Previous research demonstrated that infants remember the number of hidden objects and can update the representation of the array’s numerosity when an object is added or subtracted from the initial set (e.g., Wynn et al., 1992; Christodoulou et al., 2017). However, this process appears to be modulated by several factors, including the number of updating operations (Baillargeon et al., 1994; Moher et al., 2012) and the distribution of the objects, namely, whether two consecutive objects are hidden sequentially in the same location or alternately in two different locations (Feigenson & Yamaguchi, 2009; Moher & Feigenson, 2013). Less is known about the spatial arrangements that infants expect from the hidden arrays and how they influence their numerical representations. The present study adds to this research line by exploring the relative value that toddlers confer to variations in spatial (left vs. right) and numerical arrangements in their memory of a hidden set. Toddlers (N=34, Mage= 22+3 months) observed the experimenter placing three objects behind two panels located on the left and right side of a stage (e.g., two objects on the left and one object on the right). In the test, the the screens were lifted to reveal the outcome, which could be: numerically and spatially expected (e.g., two on the left and one on the right), numerically expected but spatially unexpected (e.g., one on the left and two on the right), or numerically unexpected (e.g., one on the left and one on the right). The results of a mixed-effects model indicated that toddlers looked significantly shorter and explored the two arrays more intensively (as measured by the number of shifts from one array to the other) in the numerically unexpected than in both the spatially unexpected and expected conditions. These results confirm previous works by showing that toddlers successfully updated their representations of hidden arrays. Moreover, the findings also suggest that toddlers’ memory for numerical information excels memory for spatial configurations.

Authors

• Chiara Nascimben, Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD)
  Presenting Author

• Aldo Antonio Sarubbi, Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rosa Rugani, Università di Padova
  Non-Presenting Author

• Silvia Benavides-Varela, Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD)
  Non-Presenting Author