Shaking things up: Young infants’ use of sound information for object individuation

A search task was used to assess 5- to 7-month-olds’ ability to use property-rich sounds to individuate objects. Results suggest that infants interpret an occlusion event involving two distinct rattle sounds as involving two objects but are unsure of how to interpret two identical rattle sounds.

► 5- to 7-month-olds use property-rich sounds to individuate objects.
► After hearing two different property-rich sounds, 5-to 7-month-olds search for a second object behind an occluder.
► When hearing two different sounds, infants searched for an object behind an occluder.
► When hearing two same sounds, infants did not reach for an occluder more than chance.