Task complexity and IQ as variables in Piaget's problem of conservation.

Abstract

In Piaget's genetic epistemological theory one dimension of cognitive development is reflected in how the child utilizes the principle of of discontinuous quantities (8). As used by Piaget, understanding of the principle of conservation involves understanding that the number or quantitative aspect of an aggregate is considered to independent of the spatial arrangements of the items or the material in the aggregate, e.g., if beads are moved from one container to another of smaller dimensions, the number of beads remains constant even though there looks to be a larger amount in the smaller container. In order to study of the conservation principle, Piaget presented children 4 to 7 years of age with two glasses of equal size and a number of beads. He put one bead into one glass while the child put one into the other, or he allowed the child to put one bead into one glass with one hand while putting another bead into the other glass with the other hand. Piaget then asked questions such as Which glass has more beads? to ascertain if the child one-to-one correspondence. He then poured the contents from a given container into another of smaller dimensions and asked the child whether there were more, fewer, or the same number of beads in the smaller one. If the child understood that there were still the same number of beads in the smaller glass, Piaget concluded that the child understood the principle of of discontinuous quantities. Piaget contends thte mastery of the concept occurs in three definite stages. In stage I, Absence of Conservation, the quantity of an aggregate tends to estimated on the basis of aspects of the perceptual situation that are irrelevant to the number of items. The number of items is judged to change as their spatial distribution changes. According to Piaget, the child in the first stage of reasoning is egocentric and judges on the basis of global properties or centers upon one aspect of a problem at a time. In stage II, Beginning of Construction of Permanent Set, there is a vacillating belief that alteration of the spatial arrangement of items does