A young child hides a toy and believes it no longer exists when out of sight. This demonstrates the lack of which two capabilities?

• A. Causality understanding, abstract reasoning
• B. Imitation, deferred imitation
• C. Symbolic play, conservation
• D. Object permanence, representational thought

Answer: (D)

This item tests object permanence and representational thought. When a child hides a toy and then believes it no longer exists once it’s out of sight, they’re showing they don’t yet hold a mental representation that the toy continues to exist even when not visible. Object permanence is the understanding that objects exist independently of our perception of them. Representational thought goes a step further, allowing the mind to hold and manipulate internal representations of objects and events, including those that aren’t currently present.

In typical development, object permanence emerges in the first year, and representational thought develops as children begin to form internal images or symbols of objects, which supports memory and pretend play. The other option choices touch on different cognitive skills, like understanding cause-and-effect, imitation, or symbolic play and conservation, but they don’t capture the specific idea that the toy continues to exist in the child’s mind when hidden.