Why Do Children Think Covering Their Eyes Makes Them Invisible?
Peekaboo I see you. doctorlizardo via FlickrYoung children nearly universally seem to think that closing or covering their eyes makes them invisible to others. Cambridge researchers are finding out why. Anyone who has ever engaged in a round of peekaboo with a child has witnessed an adorable yet somewhat illogical behavior that is nearly universally shared among children: the attempt to hide from view by simply closing their eyes. This is cute and all, but it's also baffling. Why do children think they can render themselves invisible? And why have nearly all young children come to this same irrational conclusion? Researchers at the University of Cambridge have turned their attentions to this mystery by performing a variety of simple tests on groups of 3 and 4-year-old children. The researchers first placed the children in eye masks and asked them whether they could be seen by the researchers, as well as whether...