An educational psychologist tested children on tasks designed to measure concrete-operational thinking.
| Comparison | Condition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Five-year-olds completing a conservation of number task | A researcher deliberately spread out a row of counters and repeated the equality question | 36% passed the task |
| Five-year-olds completing a conservation of number task | A puppet accidentally spread out a row of counters and the equality question was asked once after the change | 74% passed the task |
| Seven-year-olds completing logical tasks using real objects | The children regularly took part in guided problem-solving with adults and classmates | 79% gave correct answers |
| Seven-year-olds completing logical tasks using real objects | The children rarely took part in guided problem-solving with adults and classmates | 51% gave correct answers |
To pass the conservation task, a child had to judge that the number of counters was unchanged and give an appropriate logical explanation for the judgement.
Using the data from both comparisons, explain two weaknesses of Piaget's theory of cognitive development.
104 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Psychology 2.2 Theories/Explanations, covering 2.2.1 Piaget's four invariant stages, 2.2.2 Assimilation and accommodation, 2.2.3 Object permanence, animism, egocentrism, 2.2.4 Decentration, reversibility, conservation; criticisms, 2.2.5 Cognitive Development research study: Piaget (1952), 2.2.6 Dweck's fixed and growth mindsets, 2.2.7 Willingham's learning styles and meaning; criticisms, and 2.2.8 Learning research study: Blackwell et al. (2007). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.