Situational Generality of Conservation1

The influence of situational variables (materials used to test for the attainment of conservation) on the sequential development of the conservation of substance, weight, and volume as proposed by Jean Piaget was studied in 120 grade school children. A scalogram analysis indicated that conservation of the three quantities is achieved in the above sequence on each of the materials. In an analysis of variance, the effects of the type of quantity, age, material, and the interaction of age and quantity were found to be significant. Although variation across materials was present, inversions in the conservation sequence were rare. The finding that variation across materials is greater at some age levels than others suggested that a relation between situational variables and conservation behavior may be most evident during the formation of a conservation schema.