Infant's Preferences in Moral Reasoning Study

Infant's Choices in Moral Reasoning

Infants chose "puppets who are nice to puppets who share the infant's preferences".

This is a part of a study named Moral Reasoning in Infants done by Lawrence Kohlberg. By presenting moral conundrums (such as the Heinz problem) and asking kids and adults to explain what they would do and, more crucially, why they would act that way, Kohlberg employed a particular approach. Children frequently make decisions based on avoiding punishment and receiving praise, according to Kohlberg's research. However, because they must rely on words to express their inner thoughts and emotional responses, children are at a disadvantage compared to adults and what they say may not fully portray the complexity of their thinking. Developmental psychologists started developing new techniques in the 1980s for examining children's and even infants' thinking processes before they learned language.

Final Answer

In developmental psychology, an infant's preferences for certain puppets over others could be tied to concepts of object permanence and stranger anxiety. Infants might prefer 'puppets who are nice to puppets who share their preferences' or are mean to those who don't, as these actions align with their existing schema. Conversely, they might dislike puppets that behave inversely as it contradicts their existing schemas.

Explanation

From what I can gather, your question seems to be centered on how infants respond differently to various puppet scenarios which is related to the field of developmental psychology. Jean Piaget, a renowned developmental psychologist, proposed the concept of object permanence, suggesting that around the time this develops, infants also begin exhibiting stranger anxiety - a fear of unfamiliar people.

In the scenarios described in your question, the 'puppets who are nice to puppets who share the infant's preferences' and 'puppets who are mean to puppets who don't share the infant's preferences' typically receive more favorable responses from children. This is likely because children assimilate these actions within their existing schemas of 'friendship' or 'alliance.' On the contrary, 'puppets who are mean to puppets who share the infant's preferences' and 'puppets who are nice to puppets who don't share the infant's preference' can instigate disliking towards the puppet, as these actions contradict with the children's existing schemas of 'enemy' or 'competitor.'