What is Object Permanence? Understanding Its Importance in Development

What if someone took your favorite object in the whole world and moved it to another room, and from that moment on it ceased to exist forever? Without the development of object permanence, this is how the brain would react. A lack of object permanence is why when you hide an infant's ball under a blanket, rather than looking for it, they act as though it's disappeared. But why is object permanence important? In this article, we'll seek to understand object permanence: what it is, how it relates to the normal development of the child, and potential challenges.

Understanding Object Permanence

Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. It requires the ability to form a mental representation (schema) of the object. Understanding of object permanence can help a parent understand things like separation anxiety in young infants.

Object permanence is a cognitive skill that typically develops in infants around 8 months of age and is a crucial milestone in child development.

Theories of Object Permanence Development

The idea of object permanence began with developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and his research with infant behavior.

Piaget’s Theory

Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, argued that object permanence is one of the most important accomplishments of infants, as it allows them to understand that objects have a separate, permanent existence.

Piaget believed that infants develop object permanence through touching and handling objects, which helps them link visual, tactile, and motor representations of objects. According to Piaget, babies typically develop object permanence around 8 months old.

Stages of Development

Piaget's theory research led to the development of the six stages of object permanence.

Birth to 1 Month: Reflexes

During the earliest part of the sensorimotor stage, reflexes are the primary way that infants understand and explore the world. Reflexive responses such as rooting, sucking, and startling are how the infant interacts with their environment.

1 to 4 Months: Sensory Exploration/Primary Circular Reactions

Next, primary circular reactions lead to the formation of new schemas. A baby might accidentally suck their thumb and realize that it’s enjoyable. The baby will then repeat the action because it is enjoyable. Separation anxiety can be common around this age, as a baby does not yet understand object permanence.

Developing Object Permanence

Up until this point, there is no concept of object permanence. An infant will begin to develop object permanence in the next few months.

4 to 8 Months: Intentional Actions/Secondary Circular Reactions

Around the age of 4 to 8 months, infants begin paying much more attention to the world around them. They will begin to perform actions to create a response. Piaget referred to these as secondary circular reactions.

8 to 12 Months: Greater Exploration/Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions

Between 8 and 12 months, intentional actions become much more evident. Babies will shake toys to produce sounds and their responses to the environment become more cohesive and coordinated. This is considered by experts to be the most important for the cognitive development of the child, as they understand causality.

12 to 18 Months: Tertiary Circular Reactions

The child now has new problem-solving skills due to means-end knowledge. They will retrieve a hidden object if it is hidden within their view; however, they have yet to understand if the object exists if hidden outside of their perceptual field. These tertiary circular reactions can help with feelings of separation anxiety as they begin to understand that even when mom or dad disappears, they will come back.

18 to 24 Months: Invention of New Means Through Mental Combination

At this stage the child will understand object permanence fully. A hidden object will be found even if it is hidden in a more complex way. When a baby develops object permanence, they can hold a mental image in their mind and manipulate it to solve problems.

Cognitive Development and Object Permanence

Object permanence is an important concept in cognitive development, and it plays a significant role in a child’s understanding of the world.

The concept of object permanence is closely tied to the idea of mental representation, as infants must first develop a mental image of the object in order to understand that it continues to exist.

Developing object permanence is an important milestone in a child’s cognitive development, and it is closely tied to the idea of mental representation.

Supporting Children’s Development

While it is typical and normal that object permanence develops in children, there are ways that you can help nurture and foster it your own babies or those of loved ones. You don't really need to teach object permanence, but you can help strengthen its development.

Activities to Foster Object Permanence

Playing interactive games that involve temporarily hiding and revealing toys is an excellent way to help your child learn that objects still exist when out of sight.

Simple games and play like hiding objects and peek-a-boo. can be enriching. Providing your child with opportunities to practice object permanence, such as hiding and seeking games, can give your child the opportunity to practice skills and explore the world around them.

Challenges and Considerations

Understanding of object permanence can sometimes lead to misunderstanding when playing hidden toy or hidden objects with young children who have ADHD symptoms.

Object Permanence in ADHD

There is often confusion about the relationship between ADHD and object permanence. A child with ADHD may exhibit the same lack of understanding regarding things not directly in front of them, but the base cause is different.

Object permanence relates to an awareness of an object’s entire existence, while ADHD is more about the ability to recall the object. A child with ADHD understands that objects exist; they simply may have difficulty remembering certain objects.

Object Permanence and its Place in Developmental Psychology and Human Development

Object permanence is a cognitive skill that refers to a child’s ability to understand that objects and people continue to exist even when they are out of sight. In child development perspectives, understanding of object permanence plays a key role and is crucial for a child’s emotional well-being and plays a vital role in their understanding of the physical world.

Caregivers have a unique opportunity to help children develop this skill and navigate separation anxiety. Understanding object permanence is essential for a child’s overall development. When they have developed object permanence, mental representations of the world shift.

Object Permanence and Other Factors of Developmental Psychology in Brooklyn

Parenting can be complicated, and many of us would feel more comfortable understanding what is considered typical when it comes to childhood milestones.

At Williamsburg Therapy Group, our team of doctoral-level child therapists offers a number of evidence-based therapeutic approaches that can help you understand your child's development, from the development of object permanence to symbolic understanding and how a baby learns.

Professional help can help you get back on track if you are worried about your child's development in any way. If you have concerns or simply want to know more, call our patient coordinator to find the right therapist to help educate you on the appropriate milestones or to help your child if they are struggling.