Piaget's Water-level Research Articles

A short version of a spatial activity questionnaire

Newcombe, Bandura, and Taylor developed a questionnaire measuring participation in space-related activities. The activities were classified as masculine, feminine, or neutral in gender stereotyping. A short version of this questionnaire was developed based on an item analysis of the responses by 485 introductory psychology students (236 women and 249 men). The 10 masculine, 10 feminine, and 10 neutral items chosen for the short form were given to 60 subjects (28 women and 32 men), along with a measure of spatial performance (Piaget's water-level task). Reliabilities (by coefficient alpha) were .79, .77, and .75, for the masculine, feminine, and neutral activity subscales, respectively. As with the original scale, women had a greater preference than men for feminine activities, men had a greater preference than women for masculine activities, and women and men had an equal preference for neutral activities. Masculine activity preference was associated with better water-level performance, with the relationship significantly stronger for women (r=.50) than for men (r=.10). Uses for the questionnaire in research on sex-related differences in spatial performance are suggested.

Understanding of Horizontality in College Women: Effects of Two Training Procedures

Previous research has shown that many college females cannot correctly represent the horizontal on the Piagetian water-level task. The present study focuses on some possible reasons for this and attempts to determine if performance on the task can be modified. Sixty-eight college women were tested on the water-level task and on related measures of verticality, spatial relations, and cognitive style. Those failing the water-level task (N = 49) were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) physical knowledge training, (b) Euclidean reference training, or (c) a control group, and then were retested on the same measures. As predicted, both training groups improved on the water-level task while the control group did not. However, contrary to predictions, reference training did not show transfer to related measures. The results have implications for understanding the role of experience in spatial abilities.

Paper-and-Pencil Tests of Piaget's Water-Level Test: Sex Differences and Test Modality

Paper-and-pencil tests of Piaget's water-level test were administered to 30 university students. The usual sex difference in favour of men ( n = 15) was not found. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of test modality and field dependence.

An Examination of Spatial Ability in Relation to Factors from the BEM Sex-Role Inventory

As the relationship between global sex-role classifications and spatial ability has yielded conflicting results, the present study examined factors embedded within a sex-role inventory for relationships to differences in spatial performance. The Bern Sex-role Inventory and two tests of spatial ability (Piagetian water level task and Paper-folding Test) were administered to 86 girls and 39 boys in the fall of 1981. While differences in spatial ability of boys and girls were significant, differentiation for masculine, feminine, and androgynous subjects was not obtained. Masculine and feminine items from Bern's inventory along with both scores on spatial tasks were subjected to factor analysis using the principal factor procedure followed by varimax rotation. The analysis yielded 11 factors which accounted for 68% of the total variance. Three masculine factors (dominance, independence, and competitiveness) and one feminine factor (concern for others) emerged. Contrary to what was anticipated, none of the factors was associated with spatial ability.

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

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.

Comments on Thomas and Jamison's “a test of the X-linked genetic hypothesis for sex differences on Piaget's water-level task”

In this paper H. Thomas and W. Jamison's ( Developmental Review, 1981 , 1, 274–283) formulation and evaluation of an X-linked genetic model for explaining male superiority on Piaget's water horizontality task is examined. Criticisms are leveled against (1) the suitability of the model invoked for explaining the sex difference found, (2) the power of the statistical test used to evaluate the model, and (3) the appropriateness of their correction factors. A research strategy for advancing our understanding of the sex difference in performance at this task is suggested.

A test of the X-linked genetic hypothesis for sex differences on Piaget's water-level task

Data from seven studies involving 849 high school and college students were used to test the recessive X-linked genetic model prediction that the square of the proportion of men who perform accurately on the water-level task is equal to the proportion of women who perform accurately. Goodness-of-fit tests showed that this prediction was confirmed for each sample. A model with a single estimate of gene frequency accounted for all the data when a classification error parameter was incorporated into the X-linked model. In both models the gene frequency parameter was about 2 3 .

A Neopiagetian Analysis of Four-Year-Olds' Performance on Piaget's Water-Level Task

A standardized version of Piaget and Inhelder's conservation of horizontality or Water-level Task, the Preschool Embedded Figures Test, and a measure of mental processing called Mr. Cucui were administered to 42 4-yr.-olds. There was a significant correlation of .28 between Mr. Cucui and the horizontal/vertical subscore of the Water-level Task, but no significant inter-correlations with the field independence/dependence measure or the tilted bottles subscore of the Water-level Task. The significant correlation between Mr. Cucui and the horizontal/vertical bottles was discussed from the neoPiagetian perspective of Pascual-Leone's theory of constructive operators. Particular attention was paid to the “field effects” of the inverse, vertical bottles—aspects of figurative structures and the ensuing demands on mental processing.

Sex-typing and spatial ability: The association between masculinity and success on piaget's water-level task

A sample of 58 college women and 43 college men were tested on Piaget's water-level task and asked to complete the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The instructions for the water-level task were varied so as to emphasize or deemphasize the scientific laboratory character of the task. Subjects were classified by sex, sex-role orientation (masculine, androgynous, feminine), task description condition, and water-level performance. A log-linear analysis of the resulting 2×3×2×2 multidimensional contingency table revealed significant main effects for both sex of subject and sex-role orientation. Males and those males and females with masculine sex-role orientations were more likely to succeed with the water-level task than females and those with feminine sex-role orientations. The effect of sex role on water-level performance emerged most clearly among highly sex-typed individuals and the effect of sex was significant only among those with androgynous sex-role orientations.

Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task.

Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task.

Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task.

Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task.

Sex Differences on Piaget's Water-Level Task: Spatial Ability Incognito

Sherman's (1967) hypothesis that sex differences in performance on many cognitive tasks can be explained by sex differences in spatial ability was extended to explain sex differences in performance on Piaget's water-level task. The hypothesis was supported. The correlations between average errors on the water-level task and performance on the Primary Mental Abilities, Spatial Relations Test were –.83 for 12th-grade males, –.97 for 12th-grade females, –.65 for fifth-grade males, and –.42 for fifth-grade females. Statistically significant sex differences were found on both the spatial test and the water-level task for the 12th graders, while neither test showed significant sex differences for the fifth graders. An analysis of covariance of sex differences in 12th graders' scores on the water-level task, using spatial performance as a covariate, indicated that sex differences were not statistically significant, suggesting that no important sex differences remain on the water-level task once differences in spatial ability have been removed.