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On the generalizability of conservation: A comparison of different kinds of transformation
Author(s) -
Miller Scott A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1982.tb01804.x
Subject(s) - generalizability theory , psychology , perception , accidental , transformation (genetics) , natural (archaeology) , social psychology , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , chemistry , neuroscience , geography , biochemistry , physics , archaeology , acoustics , gene
Three studies are reported which examined the generalizability of experimentally elicited conservation or non‐conservation of number in kindergarten and first‐grade children. In the standard conditions of all three studies the transformations were the usual ones in conservation research, i.e. adult‐produced, intentional, explicit. In the modified conditions the transformations occurred in a more ecologically natural, less adult‐mediated fashion, e.g. boats floating apart, cars running downhill, children moving closer together or farther apart. In Expts 1 and 2, performance was equivalent in the standard and the modified conditions. In Expt 3, performance was significantly better on the modified trials, which utilized accidental/incidental changes, than on standard trials. It is suggested that one important determinant of the child's response to conservation problems is the extent to which the perceptual change and subsequent question are embedded in some natural ongoing activity, as opposed to being the sole focus of attention.