Studies for Piaget Flashcards
Study for Object Permanence
Baillargeon (1986) Disappearing Car
A: test Piagets claim that children do not demonstrate object permanence until 6-8m
M:
P: train was run along a track that was partially blocked, a mouse was either place on top of the track, behind the track, or behind the screen
R: children surprised to see train reappear when mouse was on the track (took longer to react when situation was impossible because thats how they express confusion)
C: children age 3.5m+ are able to represent and reason about hidden objects
A study for Egocentricism
Piaget and Inhelder (1956) 3 Mountain Tasks
M:
P: children shown a 3D 3-peak mountain range then asked to select a picture that showed the scene they had just been shown (children could do this with little difficulty). A doll was then placed in various positions in the model, and then asked to choose picture that would show what the doll could see from that position.
R: four-year-olds chose an image that selected their own viewpoint, but then by the age of 7 kids could do this easily
C: Piaget used this to show kids egocentrism, but some argue that this isn’t fair and if they used a more familiar land-scape kids would have done better. Hughes challanged Piagets findings
A more ‘age inclusive’ experiment for egocentrism
Hughes (1975) Naughty Boy Task:
A: create a more ‘age-appropriate task for children (he didn’t argue that the stages did not exist, but that Piaget was wrong in his age estimation)
M:
P: 2 intersecting walls were put up, and a policeman doll was placed at the end of one wall, the children were asked to put another doll somewhere that the first policeman couldn’t see him. Then, a second doll was put in by the researcher (on the end of an adjacent wall end) and the kids were then asked to hide the doll again (requiring two points of view). A third policeman and more walls were added later.
R: 4-year-olds had no problem with the first task. Then 90% of kids 3.5-5 years old could do this task. Then for the third trial with more walls and policemen 90% of four year old could still do it
C: kids lose their egocentrism by age 4
