A9-month-old child watches as three cubes are covered by a panel, then as three more cubes appear to move behind the panel. Once the panel is lifted, only three cubes appear. Which of the following statements describes the infant's likely reaction? a. The infant quickly will lose interest in the screen. b. The infant will try to grab the three remaining cubes. c. The infant will stare at the researcher's face. d. The infant will stare at the three remaining cubes for a relatively long time.

Object permanence is a crucial concept in infant cognitive development. It refers to an infant's understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. This concept typically begins to develop around 4 to 7 months of age and is usually well-established by 9 months.
By 9 months, an infant knows that just because something is hidden, it hasn't disappeared. This cognitive milestone allows infants to form mental representations of objects. For instance, in the exercise, when three cubes are covered by the panel, the infant understands that the cubes are still there despite not being visible.
This becomes even more interesting when additional cubes move behind the panel. The baby expects to see all six cubes once the panel is lifted. This expectation is based on their understanding of object permanence and basic counting principles.

Infant attention refers to an infant's ability to focus on and process various stimuli in their environment. Attention span in infants can be quite brief, but certain factors can capture and hold their attention for longer periods.
In the given exercise, when the expected six cubes are not visible (only three cubes appear), the infant's attention is drawn to this unexpected outcome. This discrepancy in expectation makes the scene more intriguing, causing the infant to stare at the remaining cubes.
Infants tend to focus more on novel or surprising events as this helps them learn and understand their surroundings. Hence, in the scenario, the infant's sustained attention is a sign of their curiosity and cognitive processing, as they try to reconcile what they see with what they expected.

Expectation violation is another key concept in understanding infant cognitive development. It occurs when there is a conflict between what an infant expects to happen and what actually happens.
In the exercise, the infant expects to see six cubes after the panel is lifted. Finding only three cubes instead leads to a violation of their expectation. This surprising result will likely cause the infant to focus intently on the cubes that are visible.
Expectation violations play a significant role in learning. When infants encounter something unexpected, it prompts them to pay more attention and helps them update their understanding of the world. This process reinforces cognitive development by constantly testing and expanding their existing knowledge and assumptions.