Cognitive Style, Gender, and Self-Report of Principle as Predictors of Adult Performance on Piaget's Water Level Task

Abstract

Summary The relationship of cognitive style (as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test), gender, S self-report of the principle of invariant water level, and the actual performance on a paper and pencil version of Piaget's water level task was assessed in 85 college students. Women performed significantly worse than men on the water level task, and analytical (disembed-ding) Ss performed significantly better than global (nondisembedding) Ss. However, when gender effects were compared in an analysis of variance with cognitive style equated, no significant effect of sex was obtained. As expected, self-report of the principle of invariant water level was significantly related to water level performance; however, the correctness in stating the principle was not a particularly good predictor of water level conservation behavior.