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Amazed or Amused: Infants' Appraisal of Violations of Expectation in a Naturalistic Context

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Title: Amazed or Amused: Infants' Appraisal of Violations of Expectation in a Naturalistic Context
Language: English
Authors: Gina C. Mireault (ORCID 0000-0003-2037-4627), Jonathan D. Lane (ORCID 0000-0002-0792-6653), Keri J. Heilman (ORCID 0000-0002-2406-9374), Ethan O. Kile (ORCID 0009-0004-5791-8047), Grae Verner, Willow Albee, Ida Eames
Source: Developmental Science. 2026 29(3).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (DHHS/NIH)
Contract Number: R16GM145481
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Infants, Infant Behavior, Expectation, Eye Movements, Theory of Mind, Social Environment, Repetition, Discrimination Learning, Cognitive Processes, Information Seeking
DOI: 10.1111/desc.70181
ISSN: 1363-755X
1467-7687
Abstract: The widely-used Violation of Expectation (VOE) paradigm has found that young infants look longer at unusual and/or impossible physical events, suggesting some innate or early-emerging knowledge of physical causality. Other research with the VOE paradigm has found that infants smile and laugh at unusual but possible physical events enacted by people, suggesting infants differentiate types of physical VOEs and may rely on context to do so. Drawing on these two bodies of research, we investigate how social context (defined as social agent visibility) and event repetition influence a variety of infants' reactions to physically impossible (vs. possible) events, including looking, smiling/laughter, and reaching in this pre-registered study. We visited 6-month-old infants (N = 88) in their homes and presented them with two physically impossible VOEs reminiscent of the classic literature. VOEs and their respective controls were presented by a social agent that was either fully-visible or whose face and body were hidden, and each event was produced 6 times. Infants looked more often (though not longer) at VOEs and were more likely to reach towards them, corroborating their ability to detect (and presumably their desire to explore) physically impossible events. Smiling was rare but we identified an intriguing temporal dynamic: in early trials, smiles were elicited most by VOEs presented by a fully-visible social agent but, with repetition, smiles were elicited most by ordinary events under the same conditions. Generally, babies turned away more from events presented by agents whose faces and bodies were hidden. Heart rate data provided supplementary evidence that infants' ability to distinguish between these events can be captured non-behaviorally. These novel findings indicate VOE research should incorporate a broad array of dependent measures and contextual factors to better characterize infants' event processing and understanding of possibility.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504345
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Amazed or Amused: Infants' Appraisal of Violations of Expectation in a Naturalistic Context
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gina+C%2E+Mireault%22">Gina C. Mireault</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2037-4627">0000-0003-2037-4627</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jonathan+D%2E+Lane%22">Jonathan D. Lane</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0792-6653">0000-0002-0792-6653</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Keri+J%2E+Heilman%22">Keri J. Heilman</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2406-9374">0000-0002-2406-9374</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ethan+O%2E+Kile%22">Ethan O. Kile</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5791-8047">0009-0004-5791-8047</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Grae+Verner%22">Grae Verner</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Willow+Albee%22">Willow Albee</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ida+Eames%22">Ida Eames</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Science%22"><i>Developmental Science</i></searchLink>. 2026 29(3).
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: 11
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (DHHS/NIH)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Infants%22">Infants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Infant+Behavior%22">Infant Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Expectation%22">Expectation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eye+Movements%22">Eye Movements</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Theory+of+Mind%22">Theory of Mind</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Environment%22">Social Environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Repetition%22">Repetition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discrimination+Learning%22">Discrimination Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Processes%22">Cognitive Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+Seeking%22">Information Seeking</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/desc.70181
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  Data: 1363-755X<br />1467-7687
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  Data: The widely-used Violation of Expectation (VOE) paradigm has found that young infants look longer at unusual and/or impossible physical events, suggesting some innate or early-emerging knowledge of physical causality. Other research with the VOE paradigm has found that infants smile and laugh at unusual but possible physical events enacted by people, suggesting infants differentiate types of physical VOEs and may rely on context to do so. Drawing on these two bodies of research, we investigate how social context (defined as social agent visibility) and event repetition influence a variety of infants' reactions to physically impossible (vs. possible) events, including looking, smiling/laughter, and reaching in this pre-registered study. We visited 6-month-old infants (N = 88) in their homes and presented them with two physically impossible VOEs reminiscent of the classic literature. VOEs and their respective controls were presented by a social agent that was either fully-visible or whose face and body were hidden, and each event was produced 6 times. Infants looked more often (though not longer) at VOEs and were more likely to reach towards them, corroborating their ability to detect (and presumably their desire to explore) physically impossible events. Smiling was rare but we identified an intriguing temporal dynamic: in early trials, smiles were elicited most by VOEs presented by a fully-visible social agent but, with repetition, smiles were elicited most by ordinary events under the same conditions. Generally, babies turned away more from events presented by agents whose faces and bodies were hidden. Heart rate data provided supplementary evidence that infants' ability to distinguish between these events can be captured non-behaviorally. These novel findings indicate VOE research should incorporate a broad array of dependent measures and contextual factors to better characterize infants' event processing and understanding of possibility.
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      – SubjectFull: Infant Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Expectation
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      – SubjectFull: Information Seeking
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      – TitleFull: Amazed or Amused: Infants' Appraisal of Violations of Expectation in a Naturalistic Context
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