1. Core Knowledge Theories
Some types of knowledge are innate or are learned very quickly
Ex: objects follow continuous paths through space (object continuity); two objects cannot occupy the same space ( object solidity)
Infants/young children develop “naïve” theories in certain domains (areas) based on this knowledge
Ex: theory of physics (knowledge of the physical properties of objects)

2. Domains in which infants/young children have “core knowledge” are adaptive for survival from an evolutionary perspective
Exs: knowledge of people, knowledge of living things, knowledge of objects

3. Violation of Expectation Method
Based on infants’ preference for novel stimuli
Habituate infants to a “possible” physical event
Habituation: Decrease in response due to repeated presentation of a stimulus
Present a “possible” and “impossible” event
Measure infants’ looking time to each event

4. If infants look longer at “impossible” event, assumed they have an understanding of the concept (e.g., object solidity, object continuity)
Based on findings using the VOE method, core knowledge theorists argue that some types of object knowledge are innate or emerge very early without direct experience with objects
Very different than Piaget’s view!

5. But violation-of-expectation method is controversial:
Does longer looking time to an “impossible” event indicate full understanding of a concept? OR
Does it reflect a preference for novel visual stimuli?
“Perception and knowing are not the same thing. . . A person can regard an event as odd without knowing why” (Haith, 1998)