Nathan is shown two balls of clay that he identifies as equal in quantity. When one of the balls is then rolled into a sausage, Nathan says that piece (i.e., sausage) now has more clay. In what stage of development is he likely to be?
A. Concrete operations
B. Goal-directed operations
C. Preoperational thought
D. Sensorimotor
Answer:C
Nathan is shown two balls of clay that he identifies as equal in quantity. When one of the balls is then rolled into a sausage, Nathan says that piece (i.e., sausage) now has more clay. In what stage of development is he likely to be?
A. Concrete operations B. Goal-directed operations C. Preoperational thought D. Sensorimotor
Explanation: C) Nathan is probably in the preoperational stage because he is failing to demonstrate conservation. If he were in the concrete operations or formal operations stages, he would indicate that both pieces contain the same amount of clay because the quantity of the sausage-like piece has not changed.