As they observe or produce events, infants identify variables that help them predict outcomes in each category of events. How do infants identify a new variable? An explanation-based learning (EBL) account suggests three essential steps: (1) observing contrastive outcomes relevant to the variable; (2) discovering the conditions associated with these outcomes; and (3) generating an explanation for the condition-outcome regularity discovered. In Experiments 1-3, 9-month-old infants watched events designed to "teach" them the variable height in covering events. After watching these events, designed in accord with the EBL account, the infants detected a height violation in a covering event, three months earlier than they ordinarily would have. In Experiments 4-6, the "teaching" events were modified to remove one of the EBL steps, and the infants no longer detected the height violation. The present findings thus support the EBL account and help specify the processes by which infants acquire their physical knowledge.

中文翻译：

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是否可以“教”婴儿注意事件类别中的新物理变量？报道事件中的身高案例

当他们观察或产生事件时，婴儿会识别有助于他们预测每一类事件结果的变量。婴儿如何识别新变量？基于解释的学习 (EBL) 帐户提出了三个基本步骤：(1) 观察与变量相关的对比结果；(2) 发现与这些结果相关的条件；(3) 对发现的条件-结果规律进行解释。在实验 1-3 中，9 个月大的婴儿观看了旨在“教”他们覆盖事件的可变高度的事件。在观看了根据 EBL 帐户设计的这些事件后，婴儿在覆盖事件中发现了身高违规，这比他们通常会提前三个月发现。在实验 4-6 中，修改了“教学”事件以删除 EBL 步骤之一，并且婴儿不再检测到身高违规。因此，目前的研究结果支持 EBL 帐户，并有助于详细说明婴儿获得物理知识的过程。