Concepts

Object permanence

Objects can be represented as continuing to exist while hidden from view.

Definition

Object permanence is understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot currently be seen or otherwise directly sensed.

How to understand it

The concept is associated with Piaget’s account of early cognitive development. A hidden-object search task asks whether an infant acts toward an object after it disappears. However, search also requires attention, memory, and an appropriate action. Failure to retrieve a hidden object does not uniquely identify the absence of an underlying representation.

Later research summarized in developmental teaching sources shows why the task matters: changing delays or using looking measures can reveal different aspects of infants’ knowledge. For learning the concept, separate the question of what persists in the world from the question of how a researcher can infer that understanding. Different tasks may provide different windows onto a gradually developing ability.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Noba: Cognitive Development in Childhood, n.d.)

A fictional rolling toy

Teaching scenario

A small toy rolls behind an opaque screen and remains hidden. A student proposes testing whether an infant expects it to emerge on the other side, while another proposes allowing a search. The class lists the additional abilities required by each task. The scene is a planning exercise, not a report of observed infant behavior or a test parents should use to judge development.

Constructed for learning. This scenario is not a report of an empirical finding or a diagnosis.

Common confusion: Perceptual constancy

Object permanence concerns continued existence; perceptual constancy concerns stable properties despite changing sensory input.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Noba: Cognitive Development in Childhood, n.d.)

Limits of the concept

  • Classic stage ages are approximate descriptions rather than universal deadlines.
  • Looking and searching measures do not necessarily measure identical capacities or support identical conclusions.

Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Noba: Cognitive Development in Childhood, n.d.)

Textbook connection

Direct coveragePsychology 2e: 9.2 Lifespan Theories

Direct hidden-object definition; Noba qualifies interpretations through task and delay effects.

Supplementary concepts may extend beyond this section. The source notes below identify the evidence for those details.

Related concepts

Check understanding · Inspect how psychological evidence is built

Sources and inspection notes

Checked October 21, 2026. An inspection date is not a source publication date. Definitions and scenarios on this page are original teaching explanations.

  1. Noba: Cognitive development in childhood. (n.d.). https://nobaproject.com/modules/cognitive-development-in-childhoodPiagetian tasks and evidence that delay, experience, and measurement affect performance.

    Opened and inspected on 21 October 2026. Academic teaching synthesis; not a primary experiment.

  2. Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/9-2-lifespan-theoriesCourse textbook section

    Opened actual subsection on 21 October 2026; title and URL verified. Course textbook, not independent primary evidence.