Chandler Johnson

 Life of Piaget  Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology Theory  Words to Know  Can Conservation Be Taught?  Results and Implications

 Born: 1896 Died: 1980  Developed the fields of cognitive theory and developmental psychology  Started in the field of psychology after studying under Carl Jung in 1918  Studied at the Sorbonne and, ultimately, the Binet Laboratory under Théodore Simon  Established what he called “Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology” throughout his 60+ years of research

PIAGET’S GENETIC EPISTEMOLOGY THEORY  Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years old)  Pre-Operational Stage (2-6 years old)  Concrete Operational (7-12 years old)  Formal Operational (12+ years old)

 Schema- “the mental representation of an associated set of perceptions, ideas, and actions”  Assimilation- “the use of previous schema to deal with a new object or situation”  Accommodation – “when the use of previous schema doesn’t fit and you must adjust your definition to deal with a new object or situation”  Equilibration- “the stage of learning that occurs once your schema has faced an accommodation, assimilates the schema and then, understands it”  Conservation- “the ability to keep in mind what stays the same and what changes in an object after it has changed aesthetically”

Children will be able to conserve at a younger age than stated by Piaget due to repetition.

 12 participants (3-4 and 7-8 year olds)  6 boys  6 girls  Visited twice  If they could conserve during the first visit, they were not retested during the second visit.  Tested on conservation of number and conservation of volume (over a three week period) Final participants 3 boys (3-4; testing both) 3 girls (3-4; testing both) 1 boy (7-8; only testing volume) 2 girls (7-8; only testing volume) 1 girl (7-8; testing both)

 20 pennies in two lines of 10  Ask “Does each row have the same amount of pennies?”; “Why?”  Spread out the second row so it is longer than the first.  Ask “Does each row have the same amount of pennies?”; “Why?”  8 quarters in two lines of 4  Ask “Does each row have the same amount of quarters?”; “Why?”  Spread out the second row so it is longer than the first.  Ask “Does each row have the same amount of quarters?”; “Why?” FIRST VISITSECOND VISIT

 3 glasses; 2 of the same size; one much taller and skinnier  Ask “Can you fill each of these smaller glasses with the same amount of water?”, then verify.  Ask “Which glass has more water in it?”  Ask “Can you pour one of the smaller glasses into this other glass?”  Ask “Which glass has more water in it?” “Why?”  3 glasses; 2 of the same size; one much shorter and wider  Ask “Can you fill each of these smaller glasses with the same amount of water?”, then verify.  Ask “Which glass has more water in it?”  Ask “Can you pour one of the smaller glasses into this other glass?”  Ask “Which glass has more water in it?” “Why?” FIRST VISITSECOND VISIT

FIRST VISITSECOND VISIT NumberVolumeNumberVolume A (7 years old)YESNO-YES B (4 years old)NO C (4 years old)NO YESNO D (3 years old)NO E (8 years old)NO YESNO F (4 years old)NO G (7 years old)YESNO- H (4 years old)NO YESNO I (8 years old)YESNO- J (8 years old)YES -- K (3 years old)NO L (7 years old)YES --

 Too few participants  Difficult to keep participants separate  Couldn’t control for any outside factors that may have improved or hindered their second test  Possible language barrier for the younger participants