Four-year-old Dimitri agrees that two rows of nickels, equally spaced, contain the same number of nickels. If the spacing increased between the nickels in one row, he thinks that row now has more nickels. Dimitri has not acquired the concept of
A) egocentrism.
B) conservation.
C) centration.
D) object permanence.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dimitri has not acquired the concept of conservation, which is the idea that even if the appearance of something changes, its quantity remains the same. In this case, Dimitri believes that the row with more spacing has more nickels, when in fact both rows contain the same quantity. This lack of understanding is common among young children and is an example of preoperational thinking. Egocentrism (A) refers to the tendency for young children to only see things from their own perspective, while centration (C) refers to the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation and ignore others. Object permanence (D) is the understanding that an object still exists even if it is out of sight.

Four-Year-Old Dimitri Agrees That Two Rows of Nickels, Equally Spaced