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The fascinating reason you loved peek-a-boo - Video học tiếng Anh
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The fascinating reason you loved peek-a-boo
The fascinating reason you loved peek-a-boo
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0:06
In Italy, it’s called il gioco del cucù.
0:10
Palestinians say ba’ ’éno.
0:13
And in Japan it’s inai-inai...ba!
0:17
But in every language, the response is usually the same.
0:20
Peek-a-boo is a near-universal source of laughter and connection
0:24
for infants and adults—
0:26
it’s the first game that almost everyone plays.
0:30
So what is it about this goofy game that babies love so much?
0:35
While infants develop at different rates,
0:37
many cognitive and motor abilities emerge in a certain order.
0:42
For example, while 6-month-olds can typically grab things—
0:45
and then promptly drop them—
0:47
walking and talking generally begin around 12 months.
0:51
This timeline was first formally charted in 1936 by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.
0:58
And while most modern researchers agree this process is more fluid
1:02
than Piaget believed,
1:03
the early developments he identified are key for understanding peek-a-boo.
1:08
First is face processing.
1:10
This happens almost immediately—
1:12
newborns as young as two days old can recognize their caregivers’ faces.
1:17
Then, around 6 to 10 weeks, babies will begin social smiling—
1:21
this is when they notice nearby laughing or smiling faces
1:25
and start to mimic them.
1:26
At 2 to 4 months, they may begin to understand cause and effect.
1:30
And finally, between 4 and 7 months they learn object permanence.
1:36
Piaget described this as the understanding that people and objects
1:40
continue to exist even when you can’t see them.
1:44
So before this period,
1:46
“out of sight” can literally mean “out of mind”—
1:50
making hiding your face akin to a magic trick.
1:54
Before object permanence,
1:56
this disappearing act can range from confusing to pleasantly surprising.
2:01
But by 9 months, these developments are working together
2:04
for peak peek-a-boo performance.
2:07
At this age, infants can focus on the game longer,
2:10
predict the timing of the reveal,
2:13
and even look for the hidden object or person.
2:16
And since infants learn about the world through play,
2:18
peek-a-boo is one of their first teachers.
2:22
In one study, 11-month-olds were shown a barrier,
2:25
the bottom of which was hidden behind a screen.
2:27
Then researchers rolled balls and toy cars behind the screen,
2:32
removing it afterwards to show that the toys
2:34
had either stopped at the barrier as expected,
2:37
or, somehow, gone through it.
2:40
Infants shown these seemingly magical toys showed more interest
2:45
in them afterwards—
2:46
even ignoring new objects in favor of toys that challenged their expectations.
2:52
The social expectations peek-a-boo develops may be even more important.
2:56
The game features several hallmarks of what researchers call social play:
3:02
eye contact, turn-taking, and joint attention.
3:06
These skills are the foundation of human conversation,
3:10
and since it's a conversation, what the adult does matters.
3:14
Just as caregivers learn to read their infant’s cries and verbal cues,
3:19
babies learn how adults respond to their behavior.
3:23
Some play researchers call this back and forth
3:25
“serve and return” interaction, and peek-a-boo is a prime example.
3:31
This call and response structure is also why some psychologists
3:35
describe peek-a-boo as a baby’s first joke.
3:38
It’s an interaction where the format is reliable, but the content is surprising.
3:44
As other motor and cognitive abilities develop,
3:47
this foundation of social skills and object permanence
3:50
informs various kinds of play.
3:53
Once kids begin walking and talking,
3:55
peek-a-boo usually evolves into hide-and-seek—
3:59
though their hiding isn’t usually very good at this age
4:03
due to poor impulse control and a lack of theory of mind.
4:07
This is the ability to understand, imagine, and predict
4:10
other people’s mental states.
4:13
Without it, a child might think they’re hidden simply by covering their own eyes—
4:18
after all, if they can’t see you, surely you can’t see them.
4:23
Once theory of mind develops around age 3 or 4,
4:26
kids can begin playing pretend together,
4:29
all occupying a shared imaginary world.
4:33
Though even the most cooperative pretend play is often sprinkled
4:36
with peek-a-boo style surprises.
4:39
By ages 5 and 6, language expands to inform more playful negotiation,
4:44
leading to games with more complicated rules.
4:48
After this point, most kids’ favorite types of play
4:51
are more determined by their personalities and interests
4:54
than their cognitive development.
4:56
But no matter what play they pursue,
4:58
as adults they’ll likely wind up playing peek-a-boo again—
5:03
this time from an all-new perspective.
