Task 3: Piaget Cognitive Development and Conservation of liquid (volume)

What is a schema?

A mental framework that organises and interprets information; cognitive structures used to understand the world.

What is assimilation?

Fitting new information into an existing schema without changing the schema.

What is accommodation?

Modifying an existing schema or creating a new one when new information does not fit.

What is equilibrium?

A state of cognitive balance where existing schemas successfully explain experiences.

What is disequilibrium?

Cognitive conflict caused when new information does not fit existing schemas, triggering learning.

What are the key features of the sensorimotor stage (0–2 years)?

Learning through senses and actions, development of object permanence, trial‑and‑error learning.

What is object permanence?

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

What are the key features of the pre-operational stage (2–7 years)?

Egocentrism, animism, centration, symbolic thinking, irreversibility, lack of conservation.

What is egocentrism?

Inability to understand another person’s perspective.

What is animism?

Belief that non-living objects have feelings or intentions.

What is centration?

Focusing on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others.

What is symbolic thinking?

Ability to use symbols, words, or images to represent objects.

What is seriation?

Ability to order items along a dimension such as size or length.

What are the key features of the concrete operational stage (7–11 years)?

Conservation, decentration, reversibility, logical thinking about concrete objects.

What is conservation?

Understanding that quantity remains constant despite changes in shape or appearance.

What are the key features of the formal operational stage (12+ years)?

Abstract thinking, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, systematic problem solving.

What does the invisible displacement task measure?

Advanced object permanence; ability to mentally track an object moved while hidden.

What does the three mountains task measure?

Egocentrism; whether a child can describe the doll’s viewpoint instead of their own.

What does the conservation of liquid task measure?

Understanding that volume stays the same despite changes in container shape.

What does the pendulum problem measure?

Hypothetical-deductive reasoning; ability to test variables systematically.

Which stage is the conservation of liquid task linked to?

Concrete operational stage.

Why do pre-operational children fail conservation tasks?

Centration, irreversibility, perceptual bias, focus on height rather than volume.

Why do concrete operational children succeed?

Decentration, reversibility, logical reasoning, ability to consider multiple aspects.

What reasoning shows conservation understanding?

“It’s the same because you didn’t add or take any away.”

What is the independent variable (IV) in your conservation of liquid study?

The shape of the container the liquid is poured into (tall/narrow vs short/wide).

What is the dependent variable (DV) in your conservation of liquid study?

The child’s conservation response (whether they say the amounts are the same or different).

What are controlled variables in your study?

Volume of liquid, type of liquid, starting containers, environment, wording, pouring speed, distance from child.

What are extraneous variables?

Variables other than the IV that may influence the DV.

What are participant extraneous variables?

Age, intelligence, attention, prior experience, fatigue.

What are environmental extraneous variables?

Noise, lighting, temperature, interruptions, room layout.

What are researcher extraneous variables?

Tone of voice, facial expressions, body language, unintentional cues.

What is a confounding variable?

An uncontrolled variable that systematically affects the DV, making results invalid.

Example of a confounding variable in your study?

Researcher accidentally emphasising the taller glass, influencing the child’s answer.

What is standardisation?

Keeping procedures, materials, and instructions identical for all participants.

How does standardisation improve validity?

Reduces researcher influence and removes inconsistencies.

How do you control environmental variables?

Quiet room, same location, minimal distractions.

Why must instructions be identical?

Prevents leading questions and reduces experimenter effects.

What is internal validity?

The extent to which the IV alone causes the DV; free from confounding variables.

What reduces internal validity?

Leading questions, inconsistent instructions, environmental distractions.

What is external validity?

The extent to which results can be generalised to other people, settings, and times.

What reduces external validity?

Small sample size, unrepresentative sample, artificial setting.

What is test–retest reliability?

Consistency of results when the same participant repeats the task.

What is inter-rater reliability?

Agreement between different experimenters scoring the same behaviour.

How do you improve reliability?

Clear scoring criteria, training experimenters, standardised procedures.

What affects generalisability?

Sample size, diversity, representativeness, age range.

How can you improve internal validity?

Control confounds, standardise instructions, remove leading language.

How can you improve external validity?

Use a more diverse sample, conduct study in naturalistic settings.

How can you improve reliability?

Repeat trials, use multiple raters, ensure consistent materials.

Sources of Error

• Background noise

• Shape\ pattern of the cup

• Didn’t measure

• Provided feedback