George Butterworth (psychologist)

George Butterworth (1946-2000) was a British developmental psychologist known for his influential work on infant cognition, particularly in the areas of spatial cognition, object permanence, and the origins of self-awareness. He made significant contributions to our understanding of how infants develop an understanding of the physical world and their place within it.

Butterworth's research challenged Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development. He argued that infants possess more sophisticated cognitive abilities at earlier ages than Piaget suggested. For example, his research on the A-not-B error in object permanence tasks indicated that infants' difficulties are not due to a lack of object permanence itself, but rather to performance limitations, such as difficulty inhibiting a previously rewarded motor response.

He developed the "visual self-recognition paradigm" to study the development of self-awareness in infants. This involved presenting infants with video images of themselves and observing their responses, providing insights into how infants come to recognize themselves as distinct individuals.

Butterworth held academic positions at the University of Southampton and the University of Sussex. He published extensively throughout his career, and his work continues to influence research in developmental psychology and related fields.