the implicit knowledge that the appearance of an object does not necessarily correspond to the reality. For example, a sponge shaped like a rock may look like a rock but it is really a sponge, and most individuals would not mistake one for the other. Children younger than 3 may have difficulty making appearance-reality distinctions, due to poorer cognitive functioning and a lack of experience with such objects.
APPEARANCE-REALITY DISTINCTION: “When the child’s cat was dressed as a dog for halloween, he or she could not make the appearance-reality distinction, and felt that her pet was now a dog.”