DEVPELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

PRACTICAL

Submitted By

Varsha Katiyar

17/828
Aim: To examine the level of conservation in children of different age group and
socioeconomic background on three conservation task as given by Piaget.

I Basic Concepts

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Cognitive development is the study of childhood neurological and psychological development. A

child's cognitive development during early childhood, includes building skills such as pre-
reading, language, vocabulary, and numeracy, begins from the moment a child is born. It is
generally recognized that cognitive development progresses with age, as human awareness and
understanding of the world increases from infancy to childhood, and then again into adolescence.
The process of cognitive development was first described by Jean Piaget, in his Theory of
Cognitive Development.

Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model
of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded
cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction
with the environment. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of
mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience.

Goal of his theory - To explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the
child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses. 

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development involves the following distinct components:

1. Organization
This process refers to organising new information in form of schemas.
Schemas are the basic building blocks of such cognitive models, and enable us to form a
mental representation of the world. Piaget (1952) defined a schema as "a cohesive,
repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected
and governed by a core meaning." Piaget emphasized the importance of schemas in
cognitive development and described how they were developed or acquired. When a
 child's existing schemas are capable of explaining what it can perceive around it, it is said
to be in a state of equilibrium ( a state of cognitive balance.)

2. Adaptation

The process of adaptation is carried out by two processes-

 Assimilation

This process refers to adjusting the newly acquired information into pre-existing
schemas.

For example - When we take in new information regarding our existing schema, we
are assimilating. When we encounter French fries and identify it as potato, we are
assimilating the French fries into our pre-existing schema. 

 Accommodation

This process refers to adjusting existing schemas to fit in new information.

For example - For example, we might see French fries, but after biting into them
realise they are made from sweet potato. We therefore, accommodate our existing
schema (not everything that looks like French fries is potato) and add or create a new
schema (we can use sweet potato to make French fries). 

3. Equilibration

This is the driving force that moves all development forward. When there is a balance
between assimilation, accommodation and organization a state of equilibrium exists.
When there is a state of this equilibrium a cognitive comfort exists. But when there is a
failure to execute a particular schema in a situation in which it is required a state of
disequilibrium arises which leads to cognitive discomfort so to resolve this state of
disequilibrium a person strives to make a balance between all these three processes.

STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

In his theory of Cognitive development, Jean Piaget proposed that humans progress through four
developmental stages: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal
operational period. 

1) SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (Birth to 2 years)

The first of these, the sensorimotor stage extends from birth to the acquisition of language." In
this stage, infants progressively construct knowledge and understanding of the world by
coordinating experiences (such as vision and hearing) with physical interactions with objects
(such as grasping, sucking, and stepping). Infants gain knowledge of the world from the physical
actions they perform within it. They progress from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the
beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the stage. 

Children learn that they are separate from the environment. They can think about aspects of the
environment, even though these may be outside the reach of the child's senses. In this stage,
according to Piaget, the development of object permanence is one of the most important
accomplishments. 

Object permanence is a child's understanding that an object continues to exist even though they
cannot see or hear it.  Peek-a-boo is a game in which children who have yet to fully develop
object permanence respond to sudden hiding and revealing of a face. By the end of the
sensorimotor period, children develop a permanent sense of self and object and will quickly lose
interest in Peek-a-boo.

Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages:

 The first sub-stage of sensorimotor development includes simple reflexes. A reflex is an

involuntary reaction that happens automatically without much thought. For example, a
baby might be startled by a clapping sound or loud thud on the floor and make a short
jolting body movement. The baby will demonstrate these reflexes as he or she continues
to grow for the first six weeks of life.
 The second sub-stage of sensorimotor development is primary circular reactions. A
primary circular reaction occurs at around one to four months of age and might include
when a baby brings his thumb to his mouth to suck on. Babies begin to associate the back
 and forth movement of their hand to their mouth or face and slowly realize that they have
the ability to repeat the movement.
 Next comes the stage of secondary circular reactions. It typically lasts from about 4 – 8
months. Now babies repeat pleasurable actions that involve objects as well as actions
involving their own bodies. An example of this is the infant who shakes the rattle for the
pleasure of hearing the sound that it produces.
 The fourth sub-stage (from 8 – 12 months) is the stage of co-ordinating secondary
schemes. Instead of simply prolonging interesting events, babies now show signs of an
ability to use their acquired knowledge to reach a goal. For example the infant will not
just shake the rattle, but will reach out and knock to one side an object that stands in the
way of it getting hold of the rattle.
 Fifth comes the stage of tertiary circular reactions. These differ from secondary circular
reactions in that they are intentional adaptations to specific situations. The infant who
once explored an object by taking it apart now tries to put it back together. For example,
it stacks the bricks it took out of its wooden truck back again or it puts back the nesting
cups – one inside the other.
 Finally, in sub-stage six there is the beginning of symbolic thought. This is transitional to
the preoperational stage of cognitive development. Babies can now form mental
representations of objects.

This means that they have developed the ability to visualise things that are not physically
present. This is crucial to the acquisition of object permanence – the most fundamental
achievement of the whole sensorimotor stage of development.

2) PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE (2 to 7 Years)

In the preoperational stage, a child builds on object permanence and continues to develop
abstract ways of thinking. This includes developing sophisticated language skills and using
words and behaviours to represent objects or events that they experienced in the past.

The child displays five key behaviours during this period:

 Imitation. This is where a child can mimic someone's behavior even when the person
they are imitating is no longer in front of them.

 Symbolic play. A child starts to use objects as symbols, projecting the properties of one
object onto another; for example, pretending a stick is a sword.

 Drawing. Drawing involves both imitation and symbolic play. It begins as scribbles and
develops into more accurate abstract representations of objects and people.

 Mental imagery. The child can picture many objects in their minds. They may ask the
names of objects often to secure these associations in their mind.

 Verbal evocation of events. The child can use language to describe and represent events,
people, or objects from their past.

 During the preoperational stage, the child is egocentric. This means they only understand
the world from their perspective and struggle to see other peoples' points of view.

Limitations of Preoperational Thought

 Young children are not capable of operations —mental representations of actions
that obey logical rules. Rather, their thinking is rigid, limited to one aspect of a situation
at a time, and strongly influenced by the way things appear at the moment.
 Egocentric and Animistic Thinking
For Piaget, the most fundamental deficiency of preoperational thinking is egocentrism —
failure to distinguish others’ symbolic viewpoints from one’s own. He
believed that when children first mentally represent the world, they
tend to focus on their own viewpoint and assume that others perceive, think, and feel the
same way they do.
 Inability to Conserve
Piaget’s famous conservation tasks reveal several deficiencies of preoperational thinking.
Conservation refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the
same, even when their outward appearance changes. For example, in the conservation-of-
liquid problem, the child is shown two identical tall glasses of water and asked if they
 contain equal amounts. Once the child agrees, the water in one glass is poured into a
short, wide container, changing the water’s appearance but not its amount. Then the child
is asked whether the amount of water is the same or has changed. Preoperational children
think the quantity has changed. They explain, “There is less now because the water is
way down here” (that is, its level is so low) or, “There is more now because it is all
spread out.”
3) CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (7 to 11 year)
The concrete operational stage is another major turning point in a child's cognitive
development. The child builds on and masters abstract thought. They become less
egocentric and more rational. Various accomplishments of this stage are-
 Conservation: the ability to pass conservation tasks provides clear evidence of
operations- mental actions that obey logical rules; decentration: able to focus on several
aspects of a problem and relation them rather than just concentrating on one.
 Reversibility: the capacity to think through a series of steps and then mentally reverse
direction, returning to the starting point.
 Classification: More aware of classification hierarchies and can focus on relations
between the categories; three relations at ones; collections become common in middle
childhood.
 Seriation: the ability to order items along a quantitative dimension, such as weight, or
length. The concrete operational child can also seriate mentally called transitive
inference.
 Spatial Reasoning: Understanding of space is more accurate. Cognitive Maps: their
mental representations of familiar larger-scale spaces such as neighbourhoods or schools;
they have a better representation of maps
Around age 8-10 children’s map become more organized showing landmarks along an
organizational route of travel they are able to give directions. At the end of middle
childhood; they are able to form an overall view of a large scale space; read and draw
maps; orientation.

Limitations of Concrete Operational Thought

 Suffers from one important limitation: children think in an organized, logical fashion
only when dealing with concrete information; their mental operations work poorly in
abstract ideas.
 Children seem to work out the logical of each problem separately.

4) FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE (11 & above)

The final stage is known as the formal operational stage (adolescence and into adulthood,
roughly ages 11 to approximately 15–20): Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical
use of symbols related to abstract concepts. This form of thought includes "assumptions that
have no necessary relation to reality”.  At this point, the person is capable of hypothetical and
deductive reasoning. During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract
concepts. Piaget stated that "hypothetico deductive  reasoning" becomes important during the
formal operational stage. This type of thinking involves hypothetical "what-if" situations that
are not always rooted in reality, i.e. counterfactual thinking. It is often required in science
and mathematics.

Abstract thought emerges during the formal operational stage. Children tend to think very
concretely and specifically in earlier stages, and begin to consider possible outcomes and
consequences of actions.

Metacognition, the capacity for "thinking about thinking" that allows adolescents and adults
to reason about their thought processes and monitor them. 

Problem-solving is demonstrated when children use trial-and-error to solve problems. The

ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges.

While children in primary school years mostly used inductive reasoning, drawing general
conclusions from personal experiences and specific facts, adolescents become capable
of deductive reasoning, in which they draw specific conclusions from abstract concepts using
logic. This capability results from their capacity to think hypothetically. 

"However, research has shown that not all persons in all cultures reach formal operations,
and most people do not use formal operations in all aspects of their lives".
CONSERVATION TASK

Conservation tasks were invented by Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, to test a child's ability to see

how some items remain the same in some ways, even as you change something about them, for
instance, their shape.

 NUMBER TASK For conservation of number, the task designed to assess children
involves a set of several coins. These coins are places into two parallel lines that are the
same length. Then he spreads out one line of coins longer than the other one. Lastly, the
person asks “are there the same number of coins or a different number in both lines of
coins?”. A child that cannot conserve, will answer that there are more coins in the longer
line, while a child that can conserve will recognize there are the same number of coins in
both lines.
 LENGTH TASK This involves two similar sticks with the same length. First, the two
sticks are placed parallel to each other. Then the arrangement of the stick is manipulated
and the question was asked whether the two sticks are of same length or not. A child that
in can conserve will reply that the two sticks are of same length while a child that cannot
conserve will reply one is longer or shorter.
 LIQUID TASK It involves two glasses with the same amount of water. Then water from
one glass is transferred to a bowl and the question was asked whether there are equal
amount of water in both the containers. A child who cannot conserve will reply that the
glass has more amount of water because it is taller while a child who can conserve will
reply that there are equal amount of water in both the containers.
 MASS TASK This involves two lumps of clay/dough in rounded shape. First, they are
placed alongside each other for the child to compare. Then one lump is manipulated and
elongated and the question was asked whether there are same amount of clay/dough in
the rounded ball and the elongated one.
 AREA TASK This involves presenting the child with several cubes of grass that are of
same area. First, the grass was distributed equally according to area into two sections.
Then one section of grass is manipulated and the question was asked whether there are
same amount of grass in both section  or not. A child who cannot conserve will answer
 there are more or less in one part while a child who can conserve will reply there are
same amount of grass in both the parts.
 WEIGTH TASK First, we present two balls of clay that are of same weight in a
weighing machine. Then without placing them back in the weighing machine, one ball
was manipulated and only the shape changed, then the question was asked whether the
two balls has the same weight or not. A child who cannot conserve will reply one has
more or less weight while a child who can conserve will reply that the two will have
same weight.
 VOLUME TASK This involves showing the child with two containers of water and two
balls of clay dropped in the container where the water level rises equally. Then one ball is
removed and reshaped, and, without dropping the reshaped ball into the container, the
question was asked “will the water level rise equally or not”. A child who can conserve
will reply that the water level will rise equally while a child who cannot conserve will
reply that the water level will rise more or less.

II Review of literature

Conservation refers to a logical thinking ability that allows a person to determine that a certain

quantity will remain the same despite adjustment of the container, shape, or apparent size,
according to the psychologist Jean Piaget. His theory posits that this ability is not present in
children during the preoperational stage of their development at ages 2–7 but develops in
the concrete operational stage from ages 7–11.

There are seven Piagetian conservation tasks that children must acquire or master. Here they
are according to the order in which children come to understand these tasks:

1. Number
2. Length
3. Liquid
4. Mass
5. Area
6. Weight
7. Volume
Jean Piaget was a pioneer in the field of developmental psychology, and his theory of cognitive
development is one of the most well-known psychological theories. At the heart of Piaget’s
theory is the idea that children’s ways of thinking change over the course of childhood. Piaget
provided evidence for these changes by comparing how children of different ages responded to
questions and problems that he designed. According to Piaget there are different abilities that
develop at different periods. This can be supported by study of Assan, Evelyn & Sarfo on
Piagetian Conservation Tasks in Ghanaian Children: the Role of Geographical Location,
Gender and Age Differences in 2015. The study investigated the influence of geographical
location, gender and age on the performance of Piagetian Conservation tasks. Four conservation
tasks; conservation of liquid, length, substance amount and number respectively were
administered to children [4-6 years] from rural and urban Ghana and their performance on each
task were recorded. Results indicated that there were no significant relationships among the
performance of Piagetian conservation tasks and geographical location. Similar trends were
noted in the performance of gender and age differences on Piagetian conservation tasks.
Nonetheless, older children performed better on the conservation of liquid in a glass than
younger children.

Piaget (1954) did not distinguish between boys and girls in his theory. Research in gender
differences in conservation tasks has yielded mixed results; while it has been shown that boys
and girls utilise different parts of the brain when solving conservation tasks (Affleck & Joyce,
1979) and that gender differences exists in boys’ and girls’ spatial abilities (Voyer, Voyer, &
Bryden, 1995), many other studies over the years found no gender difference in ability to
correctly solve conservation tasks (Braine, 1959; Dodwell, 1960; Murray, 1983; Pratoomraj &
Johnson, 1966), even in male-dominated education systems (Onyehalu, 1984). Study of Ahmad
et al revealed gender has no effects on number conservation ability of primary schools children.
Ahmad, Tabassum, and Farooq conducted a study in 2018 in which they compared primary
School Boys and Girls on Number Conservation Ability. The purpose of this empirical study
was to observe the ability of primary school boys and girls to test on the Piaget's task of number
conservation. The study was based on two major objectives: 1) To explore number conservation
ability among primary school boys and girls; 2) To compare primary school boys and girls on
number conservation ability. The population of this study comprised all public (boys &
girls) and private (boys & girls) primary schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A total of 480
students of public and private primary schools' (boys and girls) were chosen as a sample of the
study. Since it was an empirical study so, empirical research design was used. Observation sheets
were used as a data collection tool. Data were analysed through percentage and t-test. It was
established that boys and girls of primary school of age group 3 to 5 were non-conservers of
number. It was concluded that primary school boys and girls (3 to 5 years old) were found to be
same on number conservation ability. However primary school girls (4 years old) performed
better than boys at the same age level. It was also provided by the data that boys and girls of
primary schools were number conservers at the same age level that is 6 years old, that is the
number conservation age was found to be the same both for boys and girls. It was concluded
that gender have no effect (6 to 8 years) on the number conservation ability of primary
schools children.

Children’s cognitive abilities and school achievements are deeply affected by parental
socioeconomic status (SES). Numerous studies have reported lower cognitive performance in
relation to unfavourable environments. Anna lene Seidler & Stuart J Ritchie conducted a study
on The Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Development in Children
in 2018. There are socioeconomic-status (SES) differences in cognitive development. Various
factors have been proposed that might explain this association, and one of these factors is the
home environment. This study examined a chaotic home atmosphere as a potential mediator of
the association between parental SES and cognitive development. A nationally representative
sample of children in the United Kingdom was studied when children were 3 years (n = 15,590),
5 years (n = 13,802), and 7 years old (n = 12,661). At each wave, the children completed
multiple cognitive tests, and parents provided information on their SES (income, education, and
occupation) and the home atmosphere. Mediation effects were tested with longitudinal structural
equation modelling. Direct relations between parental SES and cognitive ability were partly
mediated by the home atmosphere. The proportion of mediation was 16% for the change in
cognitive ability predicted by parental SES. This study suggested that a chaotic home
atmosphere might partly explain the association between parental SES and cognitive
development.

Many reports have found that play in early childhood is important for learning mathematics (Seo
& Ginsburg, 2004; Ramani & Siegler, 2008; Gelman, 2006; Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, & Eyer,
2003; Ginsburg, 2006). Moreover, part of ordinary conversation naturally refers to and
frequently incorporates mathematical content, and some researchers have reported that such
incorporation positively affects young children’s mathematical abilities (Klibanoff, Levine,
Huttenlocher, Vasilyeva, & Hedges, 2006). To study this is detail Nobuki Watanabe conducted
a study on Acquiring Piaget’s conservation concept of numbers, lengths and liquids as
ordinary play in 2017. This study examined Piaget’s concept from a perspective that is different
from those in existing studies. It focused on improving the relationship between toddlers and
tasks for the acquisition of the conservation concepts of number, length, and liquids. Given that
new investigative tasks may be needed to clarify the stage and factors of acquisition, this study
examined the possibility of acquisition of the conservation concept by 3-year-olds, with an
improved task that is integrated into ordinary conversation and play. The treatment variable was
the Piaget task as part of ordinary conversation and play, and the AB design was adopted
because withdrawal is naturally difficult. Results demonstrated the possibility of 3-year-olds’
acquisition of Piaget’s concept by familiarizing the toddler with the task. Such intervention
through the incorporation of Piaget tasks into ordinary conversation or play had clear
positive effects, contrary to the results of previous studies that dismiss a 3-year-old’s ability
to understand the conservation concept.

Embodiment perspectives from the cognitive sciences offer a rethinking of the role of
sensorimotor activity in human learning, knowing, and reasoning. Educational researchers have
been evaluating whether and how these perspectives might inform the theory and practice of
STEM instruction. Some of these researchers have created technological systems, where students
solve sensorimotor interaction problems as cognitive entry into curricular content. Mariana
Lozada and Natalia Carro conducted a study on Embodied Action Improves Cognition in
Children: Evidence from a Study Based on Piagetian Conservation Tasks in 2016. In this
study they evaluated whether embodied action (inaction) improves cognitive understanding in
children. Using the Piagetian conservation tasks in 6–7 year olds, they analysed quantity
conservation conceptualization in children who were active participants in the transformation
process and compared these results to those of children who were mere observers of an adult’s
demonstration (as traditionally conducted). The investigation was performed with 105 first-
graders. Conservation tasks were demonstrated to half the children, while the other half actively
carried out the transformation of matter. Their findings showed that active manipulation of the
material helped children recognize quantity invariance in a higher proportion than when the
demonstration was only observed. That is, their enactive experience enabled them to comprehend
conservation phenomena more easily than if they were merely passive observers. The outcome of
this research thus emphasized how active participation benefits cognitive processes in learning
contexts, promoting autonomy, and agency during childhood.

The above mentioned studies clearly showed how all the factors (age, gender and parental
socioeconomic status) are linked to a child’s cognitive development.
III HYPOTHESIS

a)The task performances on all three tasks of conservation are dependent on the developmental
stage.

(b) Task performance on all three conservation tasks will be dependent on the socio-economic
status of the child.

IV MATERIALS REQUIRED

10 coins of ₹5, 2short wide glasses and 1 tall narrow glass, clay or dough, water, pen, pencil and
stopwatch

V PROCEDURE

1) Informed Consent
An informed consent was taken from the parents of all the 4 participants.
2) Rapport Formation
A short conversation with the children was initiated to make them feel
comfortable. It was made sure that all the participants comfortable before starting
the tasks.
 Participant A – The participant was a bit nervous and to make her feel
comfortable, she was asked about her name, hobbies and what is her
favourite food.
Total time taken in conversation – 15 minutes
 Participant B – She was also a bit nervous and she was asked about her
likes dislikes, about her school and hobbies.
Total time taken – 15 minutes
 Participant C – She was not ready to sit and do the task so firstly to engage
her and to make her sit a short game of stone paper and scissors was
played with her, then she was asked to do the other tasks.
Total time taken – 20 minutes
 Participant D – He was very calm and confident so it didn’t take much
time to form a rapport with him. He was also asked to tell about his
hobbies and friends.
 Total time taken – 10 minutes

3) Participants
4 participating were taken. From lower socioeconomic background two
participants were taken one of age 5 and other of age 8.
Similarly two participants one of age 5 and other of age 8 were taken from upper
socioeconomic background. All the participants were selected randomly.
PARTICIPANT A
Name - Muskan
Age – 5 years
Economic background- low
Gender – Female
Education – Doesn’t attends School
PARTICIPANT B
Name – Riya
Age - 8
Socioeconomic background - low
Gender – Female
Education – A student of class 1st and goes to primary government school in
Farrukhabad
PARTICIPANT C
Name - Anushree
Age - 5
Socioeconomic background – Upper
Gender - Female
Education – 1st standard student of CP international School
PARTICIPANT D
Name - Yash
Age - 8
Socioeconomic background – Upper
Gender -Male
 Education – 4th standard student of CP international School
4) Instructions
Following instructions were given to all the participants
 This is going to be a very simple task with coins, water and clay.
 Stay comfortable and tell the answer which you feel is appropriate.
 In case of any doubt you can ask.
 There will be 3 task.
5) Precautions
 The subject was made to sit comfortable in quiet place.
 The room was well lit and ventilated.
 The purpose of the test was told to the participant’s parents.
 Parents were kept away from the place where task was being conducted.
6 Conduction
 Firstly 4 kids were contacted (one of age 5 and one 8 from Low SES and similarly aged
5 and 8 from high SES)
 Then the place of conduction was decided according to the comfort zone of the
participants and an their parents were briefed about the study and an informed consent
was taken.
 After a short session of rapport formation the task was conducted.
 Conservation Of Number:
Two identical lines of 8 coins each (A1, A2) were shown to the children. Then they were
asked whether the two lines had similar number of coins (before transformation result).
Then one line (A2) was made longer by giving more spaces among the coins. And after
the transformation, they were asked whether the two lines had the same number of coins
and why.                                        
 Conservation of liquid:
Children were shown two short and wide glasses (A1, A2) of same size, length and
quantity of water. Then the children were asked whether the two glasses had the same
amount of water. After that one glass of water (A2) was transferred to another tall and
 narrow glass A3 Then they were asked whether the short glass (A1) and the tall glass
have the same amount of water and why. 
 Conservation Of Mass:
Two balls of dough (A1, A2) of similar size, shape and weight were shown to the
children. Then they were asked whether the two balls are of similar amount of flour.
Then one ball of dough was elongated by hand and the children were asked again as to
whether the ball of dough and the elongated dough has the same amount of flour. 
7 Behavioral Observations
 Participant A – first participant was very nervous and initially she wasn’t talking much
then a short conversation was initiated with her to make her feel comfortable after that
she was able to complete the task successfully.
 Participant B – Second Participant was a bit shy in starting but after telling her about the
tasks she became comfortable
 Participant C – She was very fidgety and a short game of stone, paper and Scissors was
played with her to convince her for doing the tasks.
 Participant D – He was very Calm and performed the tasks with full concentration.
 NAME AGE GEN CONSER QUES RESP RESP REAS
DER VATION TION ONSE ONSE ON
TASK BEFO AFTE
RE R
TRA TRAN
NSFO SFOR
RMA MATI
TION ON
Muskan 5 Female Number Are Yes No The other
there row is
same bigger so
number it has
of coins more
in each coins.
row?

Liquid Is there Yes No The slim

the glass is big
same so it
amount contains
of water more
in each water.
glass?

Mass Is there Yes No The round

the ball is tall
same so it has
amount more
of clay mass than
in each the flat
ball? one

VI RESULTS
Result Table 1 (5 year old with lower Socioeconomic status)
Result table 2 (8 year old lower socioeconomic background)
NAME AGE GENDE CONSER QUES RESPO RESPO REASON
R VATION TION NSE NSE
TASK BEFOR AFTER
E TRANS
TRANS FORM
FORM ATION
ATION

Riya 8 Female Number Are there Yes Yes I counted

same both the rows
number of has equal
coins in number of
each row? coins.

Liquid Is there the Yes Yes You have

same poured all
amount of water in that
water in glass so it
each glass? should be
equal it’ll
have one or
two drops
less.

Mass Is there the Yes No The flat ball

same has less clay
amount of as it looks
clay in each thin.
ball?
NAME AGE GENDE CONSER QUES RESPO RESPO REASON
R VATION TION NSE NSE
TASK BEFOR AFTER
E TRANS
TRANS FORM
FORM ATION
ATION

Anushr 5 Female Number Are there Yes Yes The count of

ee same coins in both
number of the rows are
coins in same.
each row?

Liquid Is there the Yes No The tall glass

same has more
amount of level of
water in water.
each glass?

Mass Is there the Yes No The round

same ball is taller
amount of and round so
clay in each it has more
ball? mass.

TABLE 3 (5 year old upper socioeconomic status)

NAME AGE GENDE CONSER QUES RESPO RESPO REASON
R VATION TION NSE NSE
TASK BEFOR AFTER
E TRANS
TRANS FORM
FORM ATION
ATION

Yash 8 Male Number Are there Yes Yes You just

same scattered the
number of coins but the
coins in number
each row? remained the
same.

Liquid Is there the Yes Yes You poured

same entire water
amount of of one glass
water in to other so
each glass? they both
have same
amount of
water.

Mass Is there the Yes Yes You didn’t

same take out clay
amount of you just
clay in each changed the
ball? shape.

TABLE 4 (8 year old upper socioeconomic status)

VII Discussion and Analysis

The aim of the practical was to examine the level of conservation among children of different
age group and socioeconomic background on three conservation task given by Piaget. It was
hypothesized that the task performance on all three task will be dependent on the developmental
stage of the child and socioeconomic background of the child.

Since the first participant was 5 years old from low socioeconomic background hence she is in
pre operational stage. For the number task before transformation she said that there is equal
number of coins each row but after transforming when the coins were scattered and she was
asked are there the same number of coins in each row she said no and the reason she gave was
that the scattered row looks bigger. In the liquid task when she was asked is there the same
amount of water in both the glasses she said yes but after transformation when water was poured
into narrow and tall glass she said that the slim glass has more water as it is tall. In the mass task
when she was asked it there the same amount of clay in both the balls she said yes but after
transformation when one ball was flattened she said that no there is not the same amount of clay
in both the balls and said that the round ball is tall and has more mass.

While the other participant who was also of 5 year old but from upper socioeconomic
background in the number task when after transformation she said that yes there are equal
number of coins in the same row after counting them. In the liquid task after transformation she
said that there is not equal amount of water in each rows and the tall glass has more water. In the
mass task before transformation she said that there is equal amount of clay in both the balls but
after transformation (flatting the ball) she said that the round ball is tall so it has more amount of
clay.

As both are of same age but the 5 year from upper socioeconomic background old who attends
school could count the coins and tell there are equal number of coins in each row while 5 year
old from lower socioeconomic background who doesn’t attends school couldn’t identify that
even after scattering the number of coins remained same. So these results clearly depicted the
effects of socioeconomic background on the child’s cognitive abilities. This result can be
supported by study of Anna lene Seidler & Stuart J Ritchie who found that parent’s
socioeconomic status have direct effect on child’s cognitive ability. The 5 year old from both the
background couldn’t perform well on liquid and mass conservation task. This data is well
supported by piaget’s developmental stages where it is said that a 5 year old belongs to
preoperational stage and a child in this stage cannot conserve (Conservation refers to the idea
that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same, even when their outward
appearance changes.)

The 8 year old participant from lower socioeconomic background belongs to concrete
operational stage as she is 8 year old. In the number task she said that there remained same
number of coins in both the rows even after transformation she said that there are same number
of coins in each row after counting them. In the liquid task also after transformation also she said
that the amount of water remained same even after transferring the water into narrow glass, she
looked into the glass and said you have poured all water so it must be equal. In the mass task
after transformation she said that the round ball is taller so it has more amount of clay.

While the 8 year old from upper socioeconomic background also belongs to concrete operational
stage. In the mass task He said that even after transformation both the rows has similar coins he
counted and said that the number is same. In the liquid task after transformation he said that the
amount of liquid remained the same even after pouring in the narrower glass as shape doesn’t
matter if you have poured all liquid into other glass. In the mask task also after transformation he
said that even after flattening the amount of clay remained the same as no amount was taken out
only the shape was changed.

So also in the case of 8 year old clear distinction were seen between the children of different
socioeconomic background. 8 year old of lower socioeconomic background couldn’t perform
well on mass task while the 8 year old from upper socioeconomic background could perform
well on all the three task. So this finding can also be supported by study of Anna lene Seidler &
Stuart J Ritchie who found that parent’s socioeconomic status have direct effect on child’s
cognitive ability.

Differences were also seen in children of different age groups. This can be supported by Piaget's
developmental stage that as 5 year old belonged to pre operational stage they couldn’t perform
well on conservation task as children in pre operational stage lack ability to conserve. While the
8 year old belongs to concrete operational stage they could do better than 5 year old as children
in concrete operational stage develop ability to conserve. These findings can be supported by
piaget’s developmental stage theory and study of Assan, Evelyn & Sarfo who found older
children performed better on the conservation of liquid in a glass than younger children.

VII Conclusion

The results clearly showed that performance on conservation task clearly depends on the age and
development stage of the child as 8 year old of concrete operational stage could perform better
than 5 year old of pre operational stage and clear distinctions were also seen in children
belonging to different socioeconomic background and the children who belonged to upper
socioeconomic background could perform better than children of lower socioeconomic
background. So performance ability on conservation task depends on age and socioeconomic
background.

VIII Limitations

As the sample size was small the results cannot be generalised to general population.

IX Implications

The most important implications of this experiment are its educational implications and the tasks
can be given to children at their appropriate. For example a child in the preoperational stage will
have difficulty with concrete operations such as understanding volume. A child in the concrete
operations stage can understand that the same volume of water will look different in different
container. A child in the preoperational stage will not be able to comprehend the consistency of
volume of water in two different containers. Hence with the help of the findings of the
experiment educational institutions can devise a curriculum that must meet children at their
developmental level. A child in the preoperational stage should not be learning lesson about
volume. This mean it will promote developmentally appropriate education. This refers to an
education that involves curriculum, material and instructions that are consistent with student’s
physical and cognitive abilities as well as their social and emotional needs. Teachers should
emphasize the students understanding and process they used to get the answer and recognition of
the crucial role of children self initiated active involvement in learning activities. Children
should be encouraged to discover themselves through spontaneous interaction with environment,
rather than the presentation of readymade knowledge. One of the implications could be
acceptance of individual differences in developmental progress and special efforts to arrange
classroom activities for individuals and groups of children rather than for the whole class group.
The adaption of instruction to the learner’s development level is also an intended implication.
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