Two experiments investigated which of two factors is responsible for decalage between Piaget's equivalence and identity conservation tasks. Performance of 78 primary school students between 57 and 79 months of age was compared on equivalence and identity tasks and a third task, equivalence I, which retains transitivity requirement of Piaget's task…

The strength of the tendency of children (aged 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 years) to give phenomenist reading of neutral questions about object properties was investigated. Phenomenist answers decreased with age, and social dominance and conversational context affected answers. (SKC)

Replicates the study by McGarrigle and Donaldson (1975). Considers several objections to McGarrigle and Donaldson's claim that the tasks they used did in fact test the child's ability to conserve number. A procedure free from these objections was employed in a second experiment. Discusses implications for the social psychology of the conservation…

Critiques findings and interpretations of an investigation of the role of schooling and urbanization on the acquisition of conservation of physical quantities in Senegalese children. Concludes that the investigation showed a smaller impact of schooling, even in the rural milieu, than a previous study of Senegalese children. (RJC)

Examines the imaging processes that children at different operatory levels use on a spatial rotation task. Subjects were 80 elementary school girls ranged in age from 5 to 10.2 years. (MP)

Investigated the role of schooling and urbanization on the acquisition of conservation of physical quantities in 384 Senagalese children of 7, 9, 11, and 13 years. Results revealed functional divergences in the acquisition of physical quantities. (RJC)

The amount of social pretend play in free-play sessions of small groups of five to seven year olds, and the symbolic features of this play, were noted. Conservation, verbal symbol substitution, and role-playing skills, were assessed as measures of cognitive symbolic skill. Results provide no evidence that these social class differences reflect…

Appraises the respective contribution of initial competence and of imitation of modeled response in the observational learning of conservation among first grade children. (HOD)