LO: To describe McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study of conservation
TASK 1
PEE POINT
#1 A weakness of McGarrigle and
Donaldson’s study is that the
children took part in several
tests.
#2 A weakness of McGarrigle and
Donaldson’s study is that the
participants all had similar
backgrounds.
#3 A weakness of McGarrigle and
Donaldson’s study is that it
might not have captured the
true conservation abilities of
children.
EVIDENCE
For example, the children were
asked which row had more
counters in 8 times in total (4
after a change by the
researcher, 4 after the
teddy).
For example, the children
were…
… all from the same school
which was in Edinburgh. They
also would have been from a
similar socio-economic
background.
For example, the children were
placed in an unfamiliar setting
with an unfamiliar adults at the
age of 4-6 years old.
EXPLANATION
This is a weakness because…
… the children might have
become bored or tired of
the research (order
effects). This means that
the results of the study are
less accurate (lack validity).
This is a weakness because it
means that we cannot
generalise the results to a
wider group of people. Perhaps
the children were better at
conserving because of their
educational background.
This is a weakness because…
… the children might have
changed their behaviour
around the researcher. They
might have shown demand
characteristics from being
under pressure, meaning the
study lacks validity.
 LO: To describe McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study of conservation
DO NOW
Eden and Ava are each given ten chocolate buttons every Friday by their Granny.
Because Eden is 8 and Ava is 2, Eden thinks she should be given more chocolate
buttons because she is older. Eden tells Ava she is going to play a game with the
buttons. She puts twelve chocolate buttons in a row close together and the remaining
eight below them but spreads the eight out so the row looks longer. She asks Ava
which row of chocolate buttons she would like to have.

Use your knowledge of conservation to explain which row of chocolate buttons Ava is
likely to choose. [4 marks]

ANSWER STRUCTURE
1. Highlight important info Conservation is …
in the stimulus
Piaget said that …
2. Highlight important info
in the question
Because Ava is 2, she …
3. Consider how you will
structure your answer Because Eden is 8, she …