THE ACQUISITION OF CONSERVATION OF SUBSTANCE AND WEIGHT IN CHILDREN

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Abstract
Smedslund, J. The acquisition of conservation of substance and weight in children. V. Practice in conflict situations without external reinforcement. Scand. J. Psychol., 1961, 2, 156–160.—Thirteen 5–6‐year‐old children with no initial concept of conservation of substance were given three practice sessions in situations involving repeated cognitive conflict and no external reinforcement. The conflict was induced by simultaneous deformation of an object and additions to or subtractions from another or the same object. The children initially thought that the amount of substance changes with every deformation of an object, and this perceived change repeatedly was in the opposite direction of the perceived change following a simultaneous addition or subtraction. The data seem consistent with a theory of acquisition based on cognitive conflict and internal equilibration, and inconsistent with a theory of external reinforcement.