While this image isn't entirely accurate, it's pretty funny.
More current research shows that very young infants have the capacity to understand that when objects aren't in their direct presence they still exist. One study did a test with a drawbridge-type occluder -
like this! except the drawbridge could move 180 degrees forward and back.
To use this picture as an example, the 5-month-olds would either see the drawbridge pull up and then stop when it reaches the door, or they would see an impossible event - the drawbridge pulling up and then moving through the space where the door should be.
The infants looked much longer at the impossible event, indicating their surprise. This indicates both that the infants had not only object permanence, but also a conception of the idea that solid objects occupy space.
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