A Developmental Sequence of Agent Use in Late Infancy

Abstract

WATSON, MALCOLM W., and FISCHER, KURT W. A Developmental Sequence of Agent Use in Late Infancy. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 828-836. A hypothesized developmental sequence of agent use in pretending was tested in 36 infants between 14 and 24 months of age and was compared with the development of object permanence. The sequence was predicted by a theory of the development of early representation, defined as the understanding that objects are independent agents of action. A simple technique was devised to elicit systematic pretending: Infants observed an adult modeling various pretend behaviors and were then videotaped in a free-play situation with a carefully chosen set of toys. As hypothesized, infants used agents in the following developmental sequence: (1) self as agent, (2) use of an object as a passive agent, (3) use of a substitute object as a passive agent, and (4) use of an object as an active agent. Infants not only acquired the types of agent use in this sequence, but they also stopped using and remembering them in the same sequence. Agent use and object permanence showed a moderate correlation, but also substantial decalage. The findings suggest that specific sequences in the development of representation can be predicted within task domains, but precise correspondences should not be expected across task domains.