Psychology Experiment

A couple of days ago, during psychology class, we went down to the elementary building and ran an experiment to test out some theories regarding child development. What I discovered, was very astonishing.

When a child is between 6 and 8 years of age, he or she is egocentric and has no knowledge of volume distinction. Egocentricity refers to how a child is unable to put themselves in other people's shoes and look at certain events or objects from a different perspective. In other words, their knowledge is very self-based.

To test out egocentricity, we came up with a very simple experiment that required a child to answer only one question: do you have a brother/sister?, if yes, does your brother/sister have a brother/sister?

Honestly, I thought that this was a very obvious question and was pretty certain that every second grader will answer it correctly. To my surprise, I was proven wrong when 24 kids denied that their sibling has a sibling. As I am typing this, I can't stop myself from laughing, for I imagined the kids to stare at us with a "do-you-think-I-am-stupid" kind of look.

The second experiment had to deal with volume distinction. We first showed a child two identical beakers filled with exactly the same amount water. Then, we took one beaker and poured the water in a long test tube. In our minds as full grown ups, we know that the amount of water stays the same regardless of the difference in height; however, to second graders, their minds are tricked into believing that the test tube contains more amount of water because the water touches the tube at a higher level than the beaker. The children at such stage bases their knowledge on what they see in front of their eyes. Their minds are not yet developed to understand the concept of volume.

Our brains and minds are like plants- growing day by day. Each time you look at it, it's new and different.

Picture: http://www.myopia.org/child.jpg