Samuel & Bryant Flashcards
What were the independent variables in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
• Mean age of group of participants (5y3m/6y3m/7y3m/8y3m)
• The task conditions
(Standard condition, one question before transformation repeated after/One question condition, after transformation question is asked/Fixed-array control condition, no transformation is shown just asked the question)
• Material used in transformation, all children used each material
(number was tested by plastic counters/mass was tested by play dough/volume was tested by water)
What was the aim in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
To challenge Piaget’s previous research by changing the method used to investigate conservation in children, using other versions of conservation
What was the dependant variable in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
Number of errors made by the children, errors were made when a child wrongly judged the quantities to have changed post transformation
What controls were used in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
- The fixed-array condition which showed no transformation was used as a control to see if children who had answer correctly had done so only by watching the transformation and therefor understanding to conserve
- Groups of children inside the ages groups were closely matched to control age
What was the method used in Samuel and Bryant’s experiment?
It was a lab experiment, and had an independent measures design as different groups of children were used for different conditions, groups were divided by ages so it is a quasi sample
What was the procedure in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
252 boys and girls, aged between 5 and 8.5yo, were taken from primary schools in Devon, then divided into 4 groups of 63, who’s mean ages were 5y3m, 6y3m, 7y3m, 8y3m, these groups were then divided into 3 further groups closely aged matched for the conditions in the experiment. Each group underwent a different condition, standard: two questions post and pre transformation, one question: one question post transformation, fixed-array: one question no transformation, the question asked was ‘are they the same’. Every participant was asked this question with three different materials, play dough for mass, plastic counters for numbers and water for volume. Number of errors made was recorded for each child and made into a mean number, for each age category and also material for each condition
What were the results from Samuel and Bryant’s study?
- One question condition was typically easier than the standard and fixed array
- Children aged 8 made less errors than children ages 5 in all three conditions
- Children find it hard to conserve when not shown a transformation
- fewest errors were made in the number category, volume had the most errors
What conclusions were made from Samuel and Bryant’s study?
- Children are more able to show their ability to conserve when not asked the same question twice
- Ability to conserve increases with age
What is the ability to conserve?
The ability to recognise that’s the quantity of a substance stays the same when it’s appearance changes
What were some of the ethical issues faced in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
Consent, it is not said whether parents consent was taken.
• Child may feel obliged to take part in the study even if he doesn’t want to, this is right to withdraw
What participants were use in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
252 boys and girls ages between 5 and 8.5 years old, all from Devon, split into four groups of 63 to for mean ages of 5y3m, 6y3m, 7y3m, 8y3m, then split again into three groups for question conditions matched by age
What was the participant design used in Samuel and Bryant’s study?
Opportunistic sampling was used as they visited primary schools in Devon, they groups were quasi as they depended on age and then matched pairs and children in sub groups were matched by age, children from different groups also underwent many conditions so it was a independent measures design
