The Development of Cognitive Operations in Young Children

Abstract

AbstractThis study sought to investigate the age when certain cognitive operations involved in Conservation of Number, Mass, and Continuous Quantity develop in young children. Two hundred fifty-seven youngsters, ranging in age from 5.4 to 7,7 years, were exposed to three conservation tasks. Eighty-four percent of the 5-year old group and 94 percent of the 6-year old group understood equivalency and reversibility involved in conservation of number. It appears that Conservation of Number is developed at an earlier age than the normative data suggests. Performance on Conservation of Mass and Continuous Quantity tasks indicated that most children were not able to conserve mass and quantity before the age of 7 years. No significant sex difference was found in the performance of boys and girls on any of the three tasks at any age level.