Piaget's conception of conservation and the retarded child

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the mental age of acquisition of the concept of conservation in the mentally deficient child would be greater than a mental age of seven, which is the mental age at which this concept becomes generally available in children of average intellect. Forty-seven subnormal subjects from special classes in the Halifax-Dartmouth area comprised the study population. The task involved the conservation of liquid, substance and beads. The method followed, as closely as possible, the clinical approach of Piaget. The results indicated a mental age at acquisition of conservation between 7.01 and 9.00, with boys appearing to conserve better than girls.