Question

Eric's teacher shows him two glasses. One glass is tall and thin and the other glass is short and wide. His teacher pours 8 ounces of juice into the tall, thin glass. The teacher then pours the juice from the tall, thin glass into the short, wide glass and asks Eric which glass had more juice in it. Eric laughs and says that they both had the same amount of juice in them. Eric is most likely in which of the following stages of development?

A. Sensorimotor
B. Preconventional
C. Preoperational
D. Concrete operational

Answer 1

Eric, understanding that the volume of juice remains the same in different shaped glasses, demonstrates he is in Piaget's Concrete Operational stage, which is indicative of cognitive development in children aged 7 to 11 years.

Step-by-step explanation:

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes that children progress through different stages as they grow. In the concrete operational stage, children grasp the idea that even if the appearance of something alters, its core properties, such as mass and volume, remain unchanged. Key characteristics of this stage include understanding mathematical operations and mastering the concept of reversibility, which implies the ability to recognize that objects can change shape or form and still retain their original properties.

Eric’s ability to discern that both glasses held the same amount of juice, despite their differing shapes, aligns with capacities developed during this stage. Hence, his correct reasoning about the conservation of liquid indicates that Eric has moved beyond the preoperational stage, where children typically struggle with such concepts and is able to apply concrete logic to real-life situations.