The following came to this realisation Scientists of the Vienna-based Central European University (CEU). To do this, they first showed 14-month-old children objects such as a ball, a doll and a toy animal. All the objects had something in common, for example the upper part of all of them looked the same. These objects were then shown to the children again, but now partially covered so that they were no longer clearly recognisable. So it could be the doll, the toy animal or the ball - which is it? The children were now asked to think about this. As they did so, measurements showed that their pupils dilated more than when they looked at the clearly identifiable objects. The researchers at the CEU Institute of Cognitive Science saw this as confirmation that even small children can imagine several alternatives when faced with unclear situations. This ability is important throughout life in order to be well prepared for possible events.
