THE CONSERVATION TASK AS AN INTERACTIONAL SETTING

Abstract

S ummary . Two experiments are reported, the first being a partial replication of McGarrigle and Donaldson (1975). Sixty children, average age 5 years 6 months, were tested on conservation of length both in a standard condition where the transformation was clearly a deliberate act of the tester and in an ‘accidental’ condition, where the transformation was occasioned by an errant teddy bear. Overall frequency of conserving judgments was lower than that obtained by McGarrigle and Donaldson, but their findings of a higher success rate in the accidental condition was confirmed. The second experiment represents a different approach to the same issue. Eighty children, average age 6 years 0 months, were tested on conservation of discontinuous quantity in pairs. Half of the children were given a standard presentation, while for the other half the transformation was made to seem incidental to a competitive game. Conservation rates were 5 and 70 per cent respectively. The implications of these results for our understanding of the transition to operational thinking are discussed.

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