An after-school maths club repeats Piaget's conservation of number task. Each child sees two rows containing the same number of counters. One row is spread out, and the child is asked whether the rows still contain the same number.
| Age group | Children saying the rows still contained the same number | Children who also gave a logical explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 5–6 years | 15 out of 20 | 4 out of 20 |
| 7 years or above | 18 out of 20 | 16 out of 20 |
Which conclusion is best supported by these results?
Most children aged 5–6 failed to conserve number, because they could not count the counters in the spread-out row.
The two age groups differed mainly in their judgements, because more of the older children said the number had not changed.
Both age groups conserved number about equally well, because most children in each group said the number had not changed.
More children aged 7 or above conserved number, because far more of them could explain why the number had not changed.
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.