Hannah S. answered • 03/20/20
Graduating undergrad psych major sociology minor 3.9 GPA
Hello, as our brains develop as infants we gain the concept of object permanence - the idea that things continue to exist when we cannot touch, see, hear, smell, or taste them. This is why we often see small babies get upset when we hide behind a blanket; they cannot understand we are simply behind an object and so they think we are no longer there. As babies grow and we practice peek-a-boo, they learn this concept of object permanence; we are still there, but we are blocked from the senses by another object. In working with this object permanence knowledge, we generally know things are real because we can identify them with one of the five senses (again - sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing). If you'd like to know more about this topic, I'd encourage you to take a course in cognition!
If you or someone you know are concerned they are seeing, hearing, even tasting or feeling (!) things that aren't there, please seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
