The Effects of Training Designed to Accelerate Piagetian Conservation in Children on WISC Subtest Scores

• Main Author: Winger, Leland L., Jr.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 1973
• Subjects: Psychology
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5765; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6810&context=etd

The purpose of this study was to test experimentally for generalization effects to certain WISC subtests from training designed to accelerate Piagetian conservation in children. Forty-five subjects were randomly selected for participation in this study, which involved a pretest-posttest control group design. All subjects were pretested on a Conservation Test and on the Information, Arithmetic, Picture Arrangement, and Object Assembly subtests from the WISC. Subjects found to be conservers on the Conservation pretest were excluded from the study. Subjects from the experimental group found to be non-conservers on the Conservation pretest were taught conservation principles using sever al different tasks adapted from Piaget's experiments. Following the instructional periods, all subjects were posttested using the same measures used for pretesting. The results indicated that Piagetian conservation can be experimentally induced in previously non-conserving children, but there was no significant generalization from the induced conservation to the WISC subtests.