pre-op (AO3)

• One limitation of Piaget's conclusions about conservation is that the research was flawed
• How was Piaget's conservation research flawed?

  • Children may have been influenced by seeing the experimenter change the appearance of the counters or liquid
  • Why would the researcher change the appearance and then ask them if it was the same?
• Conservation

  • McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) set up a study in which the counters appeared to be moved by accident
  • In one condition they replicated the standard Piaget task with 4-6 year olds
  • Piaget, they found that most children answered incorrectly
  • However, in another condition a 'naughty teddy' appeared and knocked the counters closer together
  • 72% correctly said there were the same number of counters as before
  • Children aged 4-6 could conserve, as long as they were not put off by the way they were questioned
  • Suggests that Piaget was wrong about the age at which conservation appears
• Class inclusion limitation is that findings on class inclusion are contradicted by newer research.
• What limitation is discussed in the study material?

  Class Inclusion limitation
• What did Siegler and Svetina (2006) demonstrate about children?

  Children can understand class inclusion
• How many five-year-olds participated in the study by Siegler and Svetina?

  100 five-year-olds
• What was the nationality of the children in the study?

  Slovenian
• What was the purpose of giving feedback to the children in the study?

  To explain class inclusion tasks
• What feedback did one group of children receive regarding animals and dogs?

  More animals than dogs because of numbers
• What feedback did the other group receive about dogs and animals?

  Dogs are a subset of animals
• What was the outcome of the scores across the sessions for the two groups?

  Improved more for the latter group
• What does the study suggest about children under seven regarding class inclusion?

  They can understand class inclusion
• How does this study's findings contrast with Piaget's beliefs?

  It shows Piaget underestimated younger children
• A further limitation is lack of support for Piaget's view of egocentrism
• Egocentrism - limitation (task)

  • Hughes (1975) tested the ability of children to see a situation from two people's viewpoints using a model with two intersecting walls and three dolls, a boy and two police officers (similar to the three mountains task)
• Egocentrism - limitation (findings)

  • Once familiarised with the task, children as young as 3 ½ years were able to position the boy doll where one police officer could not 'see' him 90% of the time
  • 4 year olds could do this 90% of the time when there were two police officers to hide from
• What does egocentrism limitation findings suggest?

  • when tested with a scenario that makes more sense, children are able to decentre and imagine other perspectives much earlier than Piaget proposed
  • suggests that Piaget underestimated the abilities of younger children and that his stages are incorrect
• What is the main criticism of Piaget's pre-operational stage research?

  Criticism focuses on the age of cognitive stage
• What does Hughes' research suggest about children's ability to decentre?

  Children can decentre at a younger age
• What does Hughes' research indicate about the ability to decentre as children age?

  The ability improves with age
• How do Hughes' findings affect the core principles of Piaget's stages?

  The core principles remain unchallenged
• What was the issue with the methods Piaget used in his research?

  The timing of his stages was incorrect