Measures of concrete operational thought and the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices were factor analyzed for a sample of primary students. Results indicated that primarily perceptual abilities are required for solution of the Piagetian tests, although abstract reasoning is involved in the solution of matrices and in conservation of substance…

Perceptual counterparts of a series of conservation of length tests were presented to subjects who were categorized as conservers or nonconservers conservation of length pre-tests, and to conservers and nonconservers given conservation length training. Perceptual performance of the untrained nonconservers was significantly worse than that of the…

The association of locus of cerebral hemispheric specialization of spatial function with identity and equivalence conservation judgments was tested in a group of four- to six-year-old right-handed children (N=31). (Author/MP)

One hundred and sixty first grade boys and girls of normal intelligence were tested for ability to conserve multiple space relations. The criterion task apparatus was a wooden T with a model of schoolhouse attached and centered above the point of contact of the horizontal and vertical axis. The T had a track running the length of both its axes…

This paper reviews some of the cognitive and linguistic functions which develop during the period of concrete operational thought (ages 4-9) as defined in Piaget's developmental theory. Discussion centers on the formation of classes and relations and the development of the language associated with these operations. Also discussed are conservation…

This paper examines the concept of decalage from two cognitive-change positions (structures of logical thought and attentional and verbal mediators) and proposes an alternative explanation for decalage from a perceptual-change point of view. The term decalage is used to summarize the relation between differences in performance of various age…

Outlines a simple classroom demonstration that illustrates Piagetian conservation. Piagetian conservation refers to the illusion of an increase in mass by changing an object's form. This demonstration, done by forming an ellipse with an extension cord, shows that college students are as susceptible to this effect as are young children. (MJP)

A second year of experimental research on young children examined the instructional power of television in facilitating the acquisition of cognitive skills. In addition, researchers investigated the efficiency of an instructional support system designed to maximize the results of educational television. Subjects were three- to five-year-old Native…