Two equal lengths of wool are laid side by side in front of a five-year-old and a nine-year-old. While both children watch, one length is wound into a tight coil. The five-year-old says the straight piece of wool is now longer. The nine-year-old says the two pieces are still the same length.
Using Piaget's concept of reversibility, explain why the two children give different answers.
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.