A child is presented with two identical balls of clay.The experimenter rolls one ball into a long,thin shape;the other remains in its original ball.The child is then asked if there is more clay in the ball or in the long,thin piece of clay.If the child answers the problem correctly,the child most likely is in which stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In the concrete operational stage, children start understanding conservation of mass, which means they realize that changing the shape of an object doesn't change its amount. Therefore, a child in the concrete operational stage is more likely to answer that the amount of clay is the same in both the ball and the long, thin piece.

A Child Is Presented with Two Identical Balls of Clay