Jean Piaget Argued That When Children of Certain Ages Watch Water Being Poured from a Short, Wide Container Into a Tall, Thin Container, They Think That the Amount of Water Has Changed. Discuss with Reference to Research Evidence
Jean Piaget had many theories on child development one of which was conservation. He believed that children of certain ages did not understand the concept of conservation, such as children believing that the amount of water changes if poured from a short, wide container into a tall, thin container. Many people criticised Piagets theory because they believed that children actually could conserve at a younger age than Piaget had initially stated. This essay is going to discuss Piaget’s theory of conservation and if this is the case that children of certain ages cannot understand it. First this essay is going to explain Piagetian theory.
Piaget was a constructivist theorist. He believed that people build up their own understanding of the world around them which is influenced by their actions and the consequences of them and that they are active in developing their own learning. As Oates et al. (2005), states Piaget believed that children build up mental representations to help them understand the way in which the world works. Piaget’s theory mainly focused on cognitive development. He started observing his own children and through this he discovered that children go through four stages of development depending on their age. For instance, when observing his infant daughter he found out that they believe that an object only exists when they see it, which is known as object permanence. He also discovered that infants are egocentric, that is, they are unaware of other people’s feelings and that people view the world as they themselves view it. He carried out an experiment which included a mountain range which when viewed in different positions you could see different things. He observed children from the age of four and asked them to sit in one position. There was cards placed beside the child of different viewpoints of these three mountains and when the child was asked to point to the card in which they had seen from where they were sitting, the child pointed to the
Piaget was a constructivist theorist. He believed that people build up their own understanding of the world around them which is influenced by their actions and the consequences of them and that they are active in developing their own learning. As Oates et al. (2005), states Piaget believed that children build up mental representations to help them understand the way in which the world works. Piaget’s theory mainly focused on cognitive development. He started observing his own children and through this he discovered that children go through four stages of development depending on their age. For instance, when observing his infant daughter he found out that they believe that an object only exists when they see it, which is known as object permanence. He also discovered that infants are egocentric, that is, they are unaware of other people’s feelings and that people view the world as they themselves view it. He carried out an experiment which included a mountain range which when viewed in different positions you could see different things. He observed children from the age of four and asked them to sit in one position. There was cards placed beside the child of different viewpoints of these three mountains and when the child was asked to point to the card in which they had seen from where they were sitting, the child pointed to the