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Abstract
The present experiment examined whether 4.5-month-old infants expect an object to
fall when its support is removed. The infants saw two test events: a possible and
an impossible event. In the possible event, a hand deposited a box fully on a platform
and then withdrew, leaving the box supported by the platform. In the impossible event,
the hand deposited the box beyond the platform and then withdrew, leaving the box
suspended in mid-air with no apparent source of support. The infants looked reliably
longer at the impossible than at the possible event, suggesting that they expected
the box to fall in the impossible event and were surprised that it did not. Evidence
for this interpretation was provided by the results of two control conditions. In
one, the box fell when released by the hand beyond the platform. In the other, the
hand retained its grasp on the box throughout the events, thereby providing continuous
support for it. The infants in these two conditions tended to look equally at the
test events. Together, these results indicate that, like adults, 4.5-month-old infants
realize that objects cannot remain stable without support.