What Does Piaget S Theory Of Conservation Show. In piaget s view early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. Conservation refers to a logical thinking ability that allows a person to determine that a certain quantity will remain the same despite adjustment of the container shape or apparent size according to the psychologist jean piaget his theory posits that this ability is not present in children during the preoperational stage of their development at ages 2 7 but develops in the concrete.
Conservation tasks were invented by piaget a swiss psychologist to test a child s ability to see how some items remain the same in some ways even as you change something about them for instance their shape a young child may not understand that when you flatten a ball of clay it s still the same amount of clay. Whereas children in the concrete operational stage are able to think logically only about concrete events children in the formal operational stage can also deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities.
Whereas children in the concrete operational stage are able to think logically only about concrete events children in the formal operational stage can also deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations.
Characteristics of these stages including object permanence conservation ego centrism and class inclusion. Per piaget s theory conservation or logical thinking should be apparent during the concrete operational stage and the maturing age is between the ages of seven and eleven mcleod 2010. In piaget s view early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. Stages of intellectual development.