| Abstract: | Reviews studies which attempt to reduce linguistic or other performance demands in the assessment of Piagetian concepts. It is argued that a precise diagnosis of cognitive skills is important for several reasons: for testing claims concerning the sequencing or concurrence of cognitive acquisitions, for assessing the effects of training or educational interventions, and for evaluating models of underlying process. In many of the studies reviewed, performance on the revised test proved no better than on standard Piagetian tests, and in many others a high level of performance was rendered suspect by methodological problems. Some studies, however, provided suggestive (although seldom conclusive) evidence that an understanding of concepts such as conservation and transitivity might emerge earlier than Piaget indicated. The point is stressed that nonverbal assessment is not inherently opposed to Piagetian theory. It is suggested that the effect of nonverbal studies may be to provide a firmer basis for the claim of nonlinguistic operational structures. (85 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
