The vulnerability of belief in the conservation of area.

Evaluated the durability of the belief that by late adolescence normal individuals accept the principle of area conservation. 120 undergraduates completed a short questionnaire that considered statements of ostensible fact. Ss were then shown a rectangle cut from graph paper and divided into 4 components. Ss were asked to calculate the area, then were told that it was 8?×?8?=?64 square units. The experimenter then rearranged the component parts and asked Ss to recalculate the area. Ss were then informed that the area was now 5?×?13?=?65 square units. Ss were allowed to manipulate the components themselves and were then readministered the questionnaire. Findings indicate that conservation of area was not a widely endorsed principle among undergraduates and that for those who endorsed it, the belief was highly susceptible to disproof. Females tended to be somewhat more susceptible to the demonstration than males. Results are discussed in the context of alternate (non-Piagetian) conceptions of the development of reasoning skills. (French abstract) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)