Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle
Recent experiments have suggested that infants' expectations about the actions of agents are guided by a principle of rationality: In particular, infants expect agents to pursue their goals efficiently, expending as little effort as possible. However, these experiments have all presented infant...
Gespeichert in:
| Veröffentlicht in: | Psychological science 2013-04, Vol.24 (4), p.466-474 |
|---|---|
| Hauptverfasser: | , |
| Format: | Artikel |
| Sprache: | eng |
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
| container_end_page | 474 |
|---|---|
| container_issue | 4 |
| container_start_page | 466 |
| container_title | Psychological science |
| container_volume | 24 |
| creator | Scott, Rose M. Baillargeon, Renée |
| description | Recent experiments have suggested that infants' expectations about the actions of agents are guided by a principle of rationality: In particular, infants expect agents to pursue their goals efficiently, expending as little effort as possible. However, these experiments have all presented infants with infrequent or odd actions, which leaves the results open to alternative interpretations and makes it difficult to determine whether infants possess a general expectation of efficiency. We devised a critical test of the rationality principle that did not involve infrequent or odd actions. In two experiments, 16-month-olds watched events in which an agent faced two identical goal objects; although both objects could be reached by typical, everyday actions, one object was physically (Experiment 1) or mentally (Experiment 2) more accessible than the other. In both experiments, infants expected the agent to select the more-accessible object. These results provide new evidence that infants possess a general and robust expectation of efficiency. |
| doi_str_mv | 10.1177/0956797612457395 |
| format | Article |
| fullrecord | <record><control><sourceid>jstor_pubme</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_pubmedcentral_primary_oai_pubmedcentral_nih_gov_3628959</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><jstor_id>23409249</jstor_id><sage_id>10.1177_0956797612457395</sage_id><sourcerecordid>23409249</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c547t-e347115eb78a46121361e86a5836469c98b89de4290469993634b0a160995b153</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNqNkd9rUzEUx4Morpu--6IEZODLnfmdmxel1DoHA2XM55ib5XYp6U1NUrH_vbm0m91AMC_hnPPJOd-TLwCvMDrDWMr3SHEhlRSYMC6p4k_ABDMhG0Va9BRMxnIz1o_Acc5LVI-k4jk4IpRJRDmfgB-fIrwYejOUDK-cCWEL57_XzhY4XbgxWSKc1mje9976mgnbj3AKZ8kXb02A1y4XGHtYbh28MsXHwQRftvBb8oP16-BegGe9Cdm93N8n4Pvn-fXsS3P59fxiNr1sLGeyNK4qwpi7TraG1X0wFdi1wvCWCiaUVW3XqhvHiEI1VIoKyjpksEBK8Q5zegI-7PquN93K3dgqNZmg18mvTNrqaLx-WBn8rV7EX5oK0iquaoN3-wYp_tzUtfTKZ-tCMIOLm6wx5ZRIhQT9D5S0hEjejl3fPkKXcZPqJ1VKUSopI0JUCu0om2LOyfX3ujHSo9P6sdP1yZvDfe8f3FlbgdM9YHJ1qk-mGpL_cpJyWUVWrtlx2Szcgbp_D36945e5xHQ4FynCFP0DtULD9g</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Open Access Repository</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>1933734266</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle</title><source>Jstor Complete Legacy</source><source>MEDLINE</source><source>SAGE Complete</source><creator>Scott, Rose M. ; Baillargeon, Renée</creator><creatorcontrib>Scott, Rose M. ; Baillargeon, Renée</creatorcontrib><description>Recent experiments have suggested that infants' expectations about the actions of agents are guided by a principle of rationality: In particular, infants expect agents to pursue their goals efficiently, expending as little effort as possible. However, these experiments have all presented infants with infrequent or odd actions, which leaves the results open to alternative interpretations and makes it difficult to determine whether infants possess a general expectation of efficiency. We devised a critical test of the rationality principle that did not involve infrequent or odd actions. In two experiments, 16-month-olds watched events in which an agent faced two identical goal objects; although both objects could be reached by typical, everyday actions, one object was physically (Experiment 1) or mentally (Experiment 2) more accessible than the other. In both experiments, infants expected the agent to select the more-accessible object. These results provide new evidence that infants possess a general and robust expectation of efficiency.</description><identifier>ISSN: 0956-7976</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1467-9280</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1177/0956797612457395</identifier><identifier>PMID: 23470355</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications</publisher><subject>Action ; Agents ; Apples ; Babies ; Biological and medical sciences ; Child development ; Child Development - physiology ; Cognition ; Cognition & reasoning ; Cognition - physiology ; Cognitive development ; Cognitive psychology ; Developmental psychology ; Efficiency - physiology ; Expectation ; Experimentation ; Experiments ; Female ; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infants ; Logic ; Male ; Newborn. Infant ; Psychology, Child ; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry ; Psychology. Psychophysiology ; Rationality ; Reasoning ; Social attribution, perception and cognition ; Social cognition ; Social Perception ; Social psychology ; Swine</subject><ispartof>Psychological science, 2013-04, Vol.24 (4), p.466-474</ispartof><rights>Copyright © 2013 Association for Psychological Science</rights><rights>The Author(s) 2013</rights><rights>2015 INIST-CNRS</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c547t-e347115eb78a46121361e86a5836469c98b89de4290469993634b0a160995b153</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c547t-e347115eb78a46121361e86a5836469c98b89de4290469993634b0a160995b153</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/23409249$$EPDF$$P50$$Gjstor$$H</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/23409249$$EHTML$$P50$$Gjstor$$H</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>230,314,776,780,799,881,21798,27901,27902,43597,43598,57992,58225</link.rule.ids><backlink>$$Uhttp://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=27357227$$DView record in Pascal Francis$$Hfree_for_read</backlink><backlink>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23470355$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed$$Hfree_for_read</backlink></links><search><creatorcontrib>Scott, Rose M.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Baillargeon, Renée</creatorcontrib><title>Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle</title><title>Psychological science</title><addtitle>Psychol Sci</addtitle><description>Recent experiments have suggested that infants' expectations about the actions of agents are guided by a principle of rationality: In particular, infants expect agents to pursue their goals efficiently, expending as little effort as possible. However, these experiments have all presented infants with infrequent or odd actions, which leaves the results open to alternative interpretations and makes it difficult to determine whether infants possess a general expectation of efficiency. We devised a critical test of the rationality principle that did not involve infrequent or odd actions. In two experiments, 16-month-olds watched events in which an agent faced two identical goal objects; although both objects could be reached by typical, everyday actions, one object was physically (Experiment 1) or mentally (Experiment 2) more accessible than the other. In both experiments, infants expected the agent to select the more-accessible object. These results provide new evidence that infants possess a general and robust expectation of efficiency.</description><subject>Action</subject><subject>Agents</subject><subject>Apples</subject><subject>Babies</subject><subject>Biological and medical sciences</subject><subject>Child development</subject><subject>Child Development - physiology</subject><subject>Cognition</subject><subject>Cognition & reasoning</subject><subject>Cognition - physiology</subject><subject>Cognitive development</subject><subject>Cognitive psychology</subject><subject>Developmental psychology</subject><subject>Efficiency - physiology</subject><subject>Expectation</subject><subject>Experimentation</subject><subject>Experiments</subject><subject>Female</subject><subject>Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology</subject><subject>Humans</subject><subject>Infant</subject><subject>Infants</subject><subject>Logic</subject><subject>Male</subject><subject>Newborn. Infant</subject><subject>Psychology, Child</subject><subject>Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry</subject><subject>Psychology. Psychophysiology</subject><subject>Rationality</subject><subject>Reasoning</subject><subject>Social attribution, perception and cognition</subject><subject>Social cognition</subject><subject>Social Perception</subject><subject>Social psychology</subject><subject>Swine</subject><issn>0956-7976</issn><issn>1467-9280</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2013</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>EIF</sourceid><recordid>eNqNkd9rUzEUx4Morpu--6IEZODLnfmdmxel1DoHA2XM55ib5XYp6U1NUrH_vbm0m91AMC_hnPPJOd-TLwCvMDrDWMr3SHEhlRSYMC6p4k_ABDMhG0Va9BRMxnIz1o_Acc5LVI-k4jk4IpRJRDmfgB-fIrwYejOUDK-cCWEL57_XzhY4XbgxWSKc1mje9976mgnbj3AKZ8kXb02A1y4XGHtYbh28MsXHwQRftvBb8oP16-BegGe9Cdm93N8n4Pvn-fXsS3P59fxiNr1sLGeyNK4qwpi7TraG1X0wFdi1wvCWCiaUVW3XqhvHiEI1VIoKyjpksEBK8Q5zegI-7PquN93K3dgqNZmg18mvTNrqaLx-WBn8rV7EX5oK0iquaoN3-wYp_tzUtfTKZ-tCMIOLm6wx5ZRIhQT9D5S0hEjejl3fPkKXcZPqJ1VKUSopI0JUCu0om2LOyfX3ujHSo9P6sdP1yZvDfe8f3FlbgdM9YHJ1qk-mGpL_cpJyWUVWrtlx2Szcgbp_D36945e5xHQ4FynCFP0DtULD9g</recordid><startdate>20130401</startdate><enddate>20130401</enddate><creator>Scott, Rose M.</creator><creator>Baillargeon, Renée</creator><general>SAGE Publications</general><general>Sage Publications</general><general>SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC</general><scope>IQODW</scope><scope>CGR</scope><scope>CUY</scope><scope>CVF</scope><scope>ECM</scope><scope>EIF</scope><scope>NPM</scope><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>8BJ</scope><scope>FQK</scope><scope>JBE</scope><scope>7X8</scope><scope>5PM</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20130401</creationdate><title>Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle</title><author>Scott, Rose M. ; Baillargeon, Renée</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c547t-e347115eb78a46121361e86a5836469c98b89de4290469993634b0a160995b153</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2013</creationdate><topic>Action</topic><topic>Agents</topic><topic>Apples</topic><topic>Babies</topic><topic>Biological and medical sciences</topic><topic>Child development</topic><topic>Child Development - physiology</topic><topic>Cognition</topic><topic>Cognition & reasoning</topic><topic>Cognition - physiology</topic><topic>Cognitive development</topic><topic>Cognitive psychology</topic><topic>Developmental psychology</topic><topic>Efficiency - physiology</topic><topic>Expectation</topic><topic>Experimentation</topic><topic>Experiments</topic><topic>Female</topic><topic>Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology</topic><topic>Humans</topic><topic>Infant</topic><topic>Infants</topic><topic>Logic</topic><topic>Male</topic><topic>Newborn. Infant</topic><topic>Psychology, Child</topic><topic>Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry</topic><topic>Psychology. Psychophysiology</topic><topic>Rationality</topic><topic>Reasoning</topic><topic>Social attribution, perception and cognition</topic><topic>Social cognition</topic><topic>Social Perception</topic><topic>Social psychology</topic><topic>Swine</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Scott, Rose M.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Baillargeon, Renée</creatorcontrib><collection>Pascal-Francis</collection><collection>Medline</collection><collection>MEDLINE</collection><collection>MEDLINE (Ovid)</collection><collection>MEDLINE</collection><collection>MEDLINE</collection><collection>PubMed</collection><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>MEDLINE - Academic</collection><collection>PubMed Central (Full Participant titles)</collection><jtitle>Psychological science</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Scott, Rose M.</au><au>Baillargeon, Renée</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle</atitle><jtitle>Psychological science</jtitle><addtitle>Psychol Sci</addtitle><date>2013-04-01</date><risdate>2013</risdate><volume>24</volume><issue>4</issue><spage>466</spage><epage>474</epage><pages>466-474</pages><issn>0956-7976</issn><eissn>1467-9280</eissn><abstract>Recent experiments have suggested that infants' expectations about the actions of agents are guided by a principle of rationality: In particular, infants expect agents to pursue their goals efficiently, expending as little effort as possible. However, these experiments have all presented infants with infrequent or odd actions, which leaves the results open to alternative interpretations and makes it difficult to determine whether infants possess a general expectation of efficiency. We devised a critical test of the rationality principle that did not involve infrequent or odd actions. In two experiments, 16-month-olds watched events in which an agent faced two identical goal objects; although both objects could be reached by typical, everyday actions, one object was physically (Experiment 1) or mentally (Experiment 2) more accessible than the other. In both experiments, infants expected the agent to select the more-accessible object. These results provide new evidence that infants possess a general and robust expectation of efficiency.</abstract><cop>Los Angeles, CA</cop><pub>SAGE Publications</pub><pmid>23470355</pmid><doi>10.1177/0956797612457395</doi><tpages>9</tpages><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record> |
| fulltext | fulltext |
| identifier | ISSN: 0956-7976 |
| ispartof | Psychological science, 2013-04, Vol.24 (4), p.466-474 |
| issn | 0956-7976 1467-9280 |
| language | eng |
| recordid | cdi_pubmedcentral_primary_oai_pubmedcentral_nih_gov_3628959 |
| source | Jstor Complete Legacy; MEDLINE; SAGE Complete |
| subjects | Action Agents Apples Babies Biological and medical sciences Child development Child Development - physiology Cognition Cognition & reasoning Cognition - physiology Cognitive development Cognitive psychology Developmental psychology Efficiency - physiology Expectation Experimentation Experiments Female Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Humans Infant Infants Logic Male Newborn. Infant Psychology, Child Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychology. Psychophysiology Rationality Reasoning Social attribution, perception and cognition Social cognition Social Perception Social psychology Swine |
| title | Do Infants Really Expect Agents to Act Efficiently? A Critical Test of the Rationality Principle |
| url | https://sfx.bib-bvb.de/sfx_tum?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-02-13T13%3A37%3A24IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-jstor_pubme&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Do%20Infants%20Really%20Expect%20Agents%20to%20Act%20Efficiently?%20A%20Critical%20Test%20of%20the%20Rationality%20Principle&rft.jtitle=Psychological%20science&rft.au=Scott,%20Rose%20M.&rft.date=2013-04-01&rft.volume=24&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=466&rft.epage=474&rft.pages=466-474&rft.issn=0956-7976&rft.eissn=1467-9280&rft_id=info:doi/10.1177/0956797612457395&rft_dat=%3Cjstor_pubme%3E23409249%3C/jstor_pubme%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&disable_directlink=true&sfx.directlink=off&sfx.report_link=0&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=1933734266&rft_id=info:pmid/23470355&rft_jstor_id=23409249&rft_sage_id=10.1177_0956797612457395&rfr_iscdi=true |