An Interview with a seven year old about Piaget's preoperational stage
...play them. When I asked him if he has played games like his daddy, he replied no. I thought that was a strange answer so I asked why. He said his games were better than his daddy’s because he got toys and all his dad got was money. Next, I decided test his centration. I put on a Halloween mask and said, “I’m a scary monster.” His response was to tickle me and tell me I was not a monster, I was Peggy. I then placed ten dimes close together in one row and ten dimes spread out in another row. I asked Spencer which row had more in it. He counted both rows without missing a number and replied they are the same. Then I thought I would trick him by placing nine dimes in one row that was scrunched together and eight dimes in a row that was spread out. I asked him again which row had more in it and again he counted. His response was the squished row contained more objects. Next, I decided to see about his conservation, or the knowledge that the quantity of something is unrelated to its appearance. I got out three glasses, two short and fat and the other tall and skinny. The ounces were the same. I poured apple juice in the short cups first and then poured it from a short cup to the tall cup. I asked him which cup had the most juice in it and he replied that they were the same. Next, I took two equal pieces of rope and placed both in straight lines. I then pulled one into a circle formation and asked Spencer which rope was longer. He replied that they were equal. He was beginning to get bored so I decided to throw in another trick. I took the piece of rope that was in a circle and tied a knot in the middle. I placed them next to each other and asked him again which rope was longer. He rolled his eyes at me and told me that they were still the same length. Then I brought out some Play-doh and rolled it into two balls. I asked Spencer if they were the same and he agreed that they were. Then I flattened one ball out and asked if they were still the same. Spencer replied, ”Yeah, you just squished one out.” Then, I took two pieces of paper, cut one into four squares and spread them out. I asked him which was more. Again, he replied that they were both the same. According to Piaget, Spencer should just be beginning to grasp this concept, whereas he was very knowledgeable. However, some children develop faster than others do. That is the only loophole in Piaget’s theories. I did not even want to test Spencer on egocentric thought. I know how self-concerned young children are. However, Spencer has a three-year-old brother, Pressley, so I suggested hide-and-seek. I paid close attention to Pressley as he hid from Spencer. He would hide in obvious places and close his eyes very tightly. Spencer sometimes made him go hide again because he did not think Pressley was a good hider. Spencer got angry with Pressley because he was not hiding well enough and Pressley was confused because he thought he was hiding really well. I quickly ended the game. Then I told Spencer I had him an awesome present in my ...