Miriam tests a concept with preschoolers. She pours liquid from a long thin glass into a short wide glass. The water that filled the thin glass to the top now only reaches halfway up in the wide glass. When she asks which glass has more water, the children respond that the first glass has more water. The children are only focusing on the level of water in the glass, not the volume of water being poured into two different containers. This is an example of a process called:
A) centration
B) cognitive distortion
C) transformation
D) decentering

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of centration, where children focus on one aspect of a situation, neglecting other important features. In this case, they focus on the height of the water, ignoring its volume across different shaped containers.

Miriam Tests a Concept with Preschoolers