Developmental Psychology - Samuel and Bryant (1983)

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• Piaget believed in nature over nurture.
• Cognitive development can described as the transformation of the initial schema by the twin processesof Assimilation (practise) and Accomodation (modification).

1. Piagets Four Stages

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   • 1) Sensory Motor Stage (0-2 years) Only thinking about personal senses and interaction with the enviroment.
   • 2) Pre-operational stage (2-7 years) Child is egocentric and unable to conserve or see the world from another angle.
   • 3) Concrete Stage (7-11) Child develops conservation and can perform complex operations but only with 'real' physical objects.
   • 4) Formal Operations (11+ years) The child can now perform logical operations and abstract reasoning. According ro Piaget, not everyone reaches this stage.

1. Split into four groups of 63.
   1. Aged around 5.3
   2. Aged around 6.3
   3. Aged around 7.3
   4. Aged around 8.3

1. (IV) Independent Variable
   1. Experimental Conditions
   2. Material used in the conservation task
   3. Age
2. (DV) Dependent Variable

1. These were divided into 3 sub groups
   1. Standard

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      • Using the pre- and post- transformation and questions as Piaget did.
   2. One-Judgement

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      • The question was only asked after transformation.
   3. Fixed Array (Control group)

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      • The children only saw the objects after they had been transformed and were then asked the question.
   4. Each subgroup has 21 children from each age control group which is a total of 84 children for each experimental condition.

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• 12 trials overall for each child

1. Counters for Numbers
2. Plasticine for Mass
3. Liquid for Volume

1. Age - The mean number of errors decreased as the child got older, showing that the ability to conserve increases with age.
2. Experimental conditions - The mean number of errors is lower for the one-judgement condition. This is only when the post-transformation question is asked.
   1. The highest number of errors recorded were in the control group - This is when the children did not see the transformation take place but are still asked the question.

1. Fewer errors are made when conserving numbers compared to mass and volume.
2. The fixed-array condition is where the highest amount of errors are made.

1. What this shows in relation to the standard anf one-judgement conditions is that despite the fact children observe a physical change in appearance, they have sufficient knowledge to understand that the amount of material has not changed.

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• More complex then Rose and Blanks, therefore advancing our understanding of how the children may carry out a conservation task.

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• Tight controls on the variables allow for a clear link between cause and effect in the study's results.
• The IV's were controlled by: - Having a different procedure for each experimental condition. - Repitition of the tasks were presented in a random order to reduce 'order effect' possibility. - The age grouping can be seen as a type quasi-experiment.

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• Useful as it helps confirm previous findings and come to the conclusion that the previous study's results (Piaget) were down to the experimental method design opposed to the ability of the children.

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• Large sample means that it can be generalised to the young general public.

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• Easy to analyse.

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• The skills tested are ones related to everyday life.
• Findings can be adapted and applied to teaching and other educational systems.

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• Raises no ethical concerns.

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• It is not clear whether or not consent was given grom the adults for the researchers to use the children in the study.

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• It is a laboratory expeiment set in an envrioment the children will not be used to when it comes to learning.
• Using sweets instead of counters may have also acted as a motivator for the children to par-take in the study.

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• Only children from Deven were involved in the experiment and it is possinle that the children from Devon may have a significantly higher or lower ability to conserve than the norm of the general public. (Not reprentative)

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• It is only fine-tuning Piagets study - Providing evidence to back up certain theories and establish others as innacurate.

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• In the presence of an adult, the children may have felt compelled to do the task they deem dull and un-interesting, so instead of actually thinking about the answers the children give one out at random.

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• Does not allow the researchers to know how the children took to the tasks; if they understood them, if they had any questions (it is not stated if questions had been asked by the children).
• The children were not asked to explain themselves in either instances (whether they got an answer correct or made an error).

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• A psychologist who suggests that the standard conditions constant errors could have been the result of a black within the short-term memory due to the laboratory conditions the children were in.