The conservation tasks implied measuring whether the number of the objects and the length are the same while changing the parameters of the lines. In the case of the video “A typical child on Piaget’s conservation tasks”, the child is younger than seven years old. In this instance, the child changes his opinion after recalculating the objects, but his first answer was only affected by the visual observations.
Nonetheless, it remains evident that the child’s development is different for each task, as it takes the child longer to give the coherent answers when the objects are manipulated. Furthermore, it is evident that some of the answers do not correspond to the adult’s logic, as the grownups can evaluate the aspects more efficiently due to the profoundly developed cognitive skills (Sinnott, 2013). Some of the answers sounded surprising, as I have a different logical framework than a child. For instance, the child thinks that the length or volume of the object’s changes, as it is moved or transported in a different shape.
However, the Piaget’s theory is highly reflected in the reservation tasks. In this instance, it is claimed that the children tend to explore the world physically and prove their knowledge with the assistance of experiments and observations (Keenan & Evans, 2009). It could be said that the conservation tasks actively support this theory, as the child tends to change his mind after measuring the sizes of the objects and exploring their features.
It remains evident that the child starts to understand the principles of the object conservation but cannot think in abstract forms. The conservation underlines the ability of the child to underline that the quantity will be the same despite changing the present form of the object (Kalat, 2013). In turn, the object permanence is the ability of the child to understand that the objects have a tendency to exist despite being not physically present on the table (Kalat, 2013). In this instance, the features are dramatically different, but both are referred to the presence of abstract thinking.
The assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium are described in this section. Assimilation is the adaptation of the information in the existing behavioral pattern and schema (Kalat, 2013). In the context of the video, the child learns that the qualities of the objects do not change despite the modifications of the location. Accommodation is adapting the existing schemas according to the new information (Kalat, 2013).
In this case, the child adds information to the existing knowledge and modifies his thinking. Equilibrium is the necessity to maintain the balance between the assimilation and accommodation. Nonetheless, these phenomena are actively present in the video, as the child has a tendency to adapt new knowledge into the existing schemas. However, it takes some time to adapt the changes to his thinking patterns due to the lack of sufficient cognitive development. It could be said that Piaget’s perception of actively using the equilibrium is highly adopted in the examples of the video.
In conclusion, it could be said that the conservation tasks, which are actively presented in the video, have a reflection and support of the Piaget’s theory. It remains evident that Piaget developed a sufficient theory about the child’s cognitive development. It is clear that the video supports and underlines the primary principles, as the child adopts the learning aspects of the Piaget’s theory.
References
A typical child on Piaget’s conservation tasks. (2011). Web.
Kalat, J. (2013). Introduction to psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Keenan, T., & Evans, S. (2009). An introduction to child development. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Sinnott, J. (2013). The development of logic in adulthood: Postformal thought and its application. New York, NY: Springer Business+Science.