Cognitive Development Research (OCR GCSE Psychology): Revision Note

Cognitive development core study: Piaget (1952): conservation of number

Background

• Piaget believed that conservation — understanding that quantity remains the same even when appearance changes — develops during the concrete operational stage (around 7–11 years old)

  • E.g. if liquid is poured from one glass into a differently shaped glass, the volume stays the same even though it looks different

• Piaget argued that younger children in the pre-operational stage (2–7 years) lack this understanding because their thinking is still egocentric and focused on appearance

Aim

• To investigate whether children in the concrete operational stage are more likely to conserve number than children in the pre-operational stage

Method

• Type of study: Natural experiment, which was cross-sectional, as different children of different ages were tested

  • Independent variable (IV): the child’s age/stage of development

  • Dependent variable (DV): the child’s ability to conserve number

• Design: Independent measures as each age group represents a different condition of the IV

• Sample:

  • A small sample of Swiss schoolchildren from Geneva (exact number not reported)

  • Included Piaget’s own children

• Procedure:

  1. Each child was tested individually

  2. The child was shown two rows of counters lined up equally (same number and spacing)

  3. The child was asked: “Is there the same number of counters in each row?”

  4. The researcher then spread out one row to make it longer or shorter, changing its appearance

  5. The child was asked again: “Is there the same number of counters in each row?”

Results

• Pre-operational stage (around 3–6 years):

  • Most children said the longer row had “more counters”

  • They focused on appearance (length) rather than quantity

• Concrete operational stage (7–11 years):

  • Most recognised that the number of counters stayed the same despite the transformation

  • They could also justify their answers using logical reasoning

Conclusions

• Piaget’s findings supported his theory of cognitive development

  • Children’s thinking changes qualitatively as they mature

  • Conservation develops during the concrete operational stage

• Younger children were less able to conserve and justify their reasoning, showing pre-operational thinking

Criticisms

• Methodological problems:

  • Children were asked the same question twice, which may have led them to believe they should change their answer, showing demand characteristics rather than a lack of understanding

  • Rose & Blank (1974) and Samuel & Bryant (1984) found that asking the question only once improved younger children’s performance

• Artificial setting:

  • The task was unnatural and may have confused children

  • McGarrigle & Donaldson (1974) found that using a ‘naughty teddy’ (who accidentally moved the counters) increased conservation — suggesting Piaget’s method lacked ecological validity

• Cultural bias:

  • The study only involved Swiss children, limiting generalisation

  • Conservation ability may depend on education, culture, or upbringing

• Sample issues:

  • Included Piaget’s own children, introducing researcher bias and reducing objectivity

  • The small, unrepresentative sample also limits generalisability