Investigating the social environment of the A-not-B search task

The baby duck syndrome as cognitive bias in user-interface interaction

As technological interfaces are relatively new cultural tools, regular interaction can lead to new psychological phenomena, like the baby duck syndrome, where users favor old interfaces over updates. This syndrome is seen as a cognitive bias in human-computer interaction. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 on an Airbnb app (old vs. new versions), and Study 2 on a self-developed website (blue vs. purple design). Subjects completed sequential five usability tasks in two blocks with the resting between. Experimental groups engaged with different interface versions, while control groups used the same one. After completing tasks, subjects filled questionnaires about interface interaction. Study 1 showed significantly higher preference for the old Airbnb version, though scores varied by group. Study 2 revealed a trend of reduced scores in experimental groups on second assessment, not seen in controls. Version-based rating differences were insignificant. Overall, Studies 1 and 2 indicated baby duck syndrome is challenging to study in labs, suggesting it emerges when users are genuinely engaged with the interface. This article has both theoretical and experimental significance for studying the emergence of psychological phenomena in human-digital interaction. As a practical application, the obtained results can be useful for correct development updates for interfaces.

Adaptive rule learning of event sequences during the A-not-B task in 9-month-old infants

Prior work indicates that infants can use social information to organize simple audiovisual inputs into predictable rules by 8 months of age. However, it is unclear whether infants can use social information to organize more complex events into predictable rules that can be used to guide motor action. To examine these issues, we tested 9-month-old infants using a modified version of an A-not-B task, in which hiding event sequences were paired with different experimenters, who could be used to organize the events into rules that guide action. We predicted that infants' reaching accuracy would be better when the experimenter changes when the toy's hiding location changes, relative to when the experimenter stays the same, as this should cue a novel rule used to guide action. Experiments 1 and 2 validated this prediction. Experiment 3 showed that reaching accuracy was better when the toy's hiding location switched but was consistent with the rule associated with the experimenter, relative to when the toy's hiding location repeated but was inconsistent with the rule associated with the experimenter. These data suggest that infants can use the identities of experimenters to organize events into predictable rules that guide action in the A-not-B task.

Investigating the social environment of the A-not-B search task

Controversy exists concerning the origins of object permanence, with different measures suggesting different conclusions. Looking measures have been interpreted as evidence for early understanding (Baillargeon, 1987, Developmental Psychology, 23:655), while Piaget (The construction of reality in the child, 1954) interpreted perseverative reaching behaviour on his AB search task to be indicative of limited understanding. However, looking measures are often reported to be an unreliable index of infant expectation (Haith, 1998, Infant Behaviour and Development, 21:167) and reaching behaviour has been explained by many alternative processes (e.g. Smith et al., 1999, Psychological Review, 106:235; Topál et al., 2008, Science, 321:1831). We aimed to investigate whether social looking (Dunn & Bremner, 2017, Developmental Science, 20:e12452; Walden et al., 2007, Developmental Science, 10:654) can be used as a valid measure of infant expectation of object location during the Piagetian AB search task. Furthermore, we aimed to test the social accounts of perseverative reaching by investigating how the direction of experimenter gaze would affect infant search and social behaviour. Infant search and social behaviour was compared on B trials across three different conditions, namely experimenter gaze to midline, location A and location B. Search performance significantly improved when the experimenter looked to location B. Infant social looking indicated that infants expect the object to be found in the location in which they search and are actively seeking information about object location from the experimenter. We conclude that social looking is a valid index of infant expectation that has provided support for the importance of the social environment on the AB search task. This casts doubt on the potential for this task to provide information related to the development of object permanence in infancy.