Piaget's Conservation This Experiment Is Term Paper

The materials used consisted of standard wide-mouth beakers and taller and narrower graduated glass containers filled with various quantities of colored liquid. The liquid used was ordinary tap water containing blue food dye. The wide-mouth beakers had a maximum volume approximately three times that of the maximum volume of the taller glass containers. The height of the wide-mouth beakers was 5.5 inches and the height of the taller glass containers was 13 inches. The diameter of the wide-mouth beakers was 3 inches; the diameter of the taller glass containers was 1 inch.

Before conducting a demonstration using the liquid, the experimenter engaged the subject in sufficient conversation to establish a rapport. The experimenter then asked the subject to look at the empty containers and hypothesize which container would likely hold more fluid, recording those results.Subjects who indicated an awareness of the conservation at this stage were interviewed and asked to explain their answer. If they indicated their understanding that volume is a function of overall dimension and not merely of the height of containers, they were recorded as having acquired conservation appreciation.

Subjects who answered incorrectly, who expressed confusion, or who could not satisfactorily explain the correct answer were then asked to watch the experimenter fill the taller container to the top. They were asked again which container likely held more liquid. The experimenter then demonstrated that the wider containers held all of the liquid poured from the taller container and engaged the children in discussion about their observations. Their responses were used by the….....