American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Practice Exam 2025 - Free ABPN Practice Questions and Study Guide

Question: 1 / 1275

During which of Piaget's developmental stages do children primarily achieve the skill of conservation?

Preoperational

Concrete operations

The correct answer is the Concrete Operations stage, which occurs approximately between the ages of 7 and 11 years. During this stage, children develop the ability to understand the concept of conservation, which refers to the understanding that certain properties of objects, such as volume, mass, and number, remain the same despite changes in the forms or arrangements of those objects. For example, a child understands that if you pour water from a short, wide glass into a tall, narrow glass, the amount of water remains the same, despite its different appearance.

This developmental milestone is essential as it signifies a shift from preoperational thinking, where children are egocentric and have difficulty understanding perspectives other than their own. The Concrete Operations stage allows children to think more logically and systematically about the physical world, marking an important transition in their cognitive development.

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Formal operations

Sensorimotor

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