Dyadic Interaction and Conservation Induction: A Test of Piaget's Equilibration Model

SILVERMAN, IRWIN WILLIAM, and GEIRINGER, EVA. Dyadic Interaction and Conservation Induction: A Test of Piaget's Equilibration Model. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1973, 44, 815-820. First-grade children were pretested on length, number, substance, and weight tests of conservation. Subjects classified as conservers and nonconservers on the length test were assigned to groups consisting of 1 subject from each of these categories. The groups were set the task of deciding upon a joint answer on each of 2 length problems used in the pretest. A greater than chance percentage of conservers prevailed over nonconservers during the interaction. 1 month later, these subjects plus controls were retested. Results revealed that nonconservers who had yielded to conservers made significant gains on all 4 conservation tests as measured against their own pretest performance and that of the controls. No significant pre-posttest differences occurred in nonconservers who had not yielded. Conservers manifested comparable changes in performance whether or not they had yielded. The results were interpreted as consistent with Piaget's equilibration model.