PROCEDURE
It was a cross-sectional study
- Different people represented different stages
They were shown, one at a time, two identical parallel rows of counters. They then spread one of the rows of the counters whilst the child watched. They were then asked which row had more counters
RESULTS
Children in the pre-operational stage (2-7 years) often said the stretched out row had more counters, as it was longer. They cannot conserve number
Children in the concrete operation stage (7-11 years) mostly said that they had the same amount in each row. They could conserve number
CRITICISMS
1 - The double-questioning may have had an effect
- In normal situations, children are only asked a question twice if they got the answer wrong at first
- When this was repeated and the children were only asked once, a higher number of children got the answer correct
2 - It was criticised for not being child friendly
- When McGarrigle & Donaldson (1974) had a 'naughty toy' spread the counters, 60% of the children in the pre-operational stage got the answer correct
3 - Piaget used a small sample
- It may not have been representative, so cannot be generalised
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