A play worker places nine identical wooden discs close together in a square. A child agrees that there are nine discs. While the child watches, the play worker moves the same discs into a widely spaced circle.
Which response provides the clearest evidence that the child conserves number?
The square has more because its discs are closer together.
The circle has more because the discs cover more space.
Both arrangements have nine because no discs were added or removed.
Both arrangements have nine because every disc is the same size.
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.