Question

When planning care for a 4-year-old, the nurse considers the fact that the child does not yet comprehend which concepts? A. Alternative points of view B. Conservation C. Reversibility D. Object permanence

Short answer

B. Conservation

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Concepts

Review the meanings of the given concepts: 'Alternative points of view' means understanding that others can have different opinions or perspectives. 'Conservation' refers to understanding that quantity does not change even when its shape does. 'Reversibility' is the ability to recognize that objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form. 'Object permanence' means knowing that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible.

Consider Developmental Stages

Understand Piaget's stages of cognitive development: a 4-year-old child is typically in the preoperational stage, which is from ages 2 to 7. Children in this stage do not fully develop the concepts of conservation and reversibility. They also struggle with understanding alternative points of view but have usually developed object permanence by this age.

Match Each Concept to the Developmental Stage

Since the child is 4 years old and in the preoperational stage, it is important to recognize which of the given concepts they have not yet fully comprehended. By age 4, children have typically developed object permanence, but they do not yet understand conservation, reversibility, or alternative points of view.

Identify the Correct Answer

Among the options provided, the child at this age has difficulty with conservation (B), which refers to understanding that an object's quantity remains the same despite changes in its shape. While the child also struggles with alternative points of view (A) and reversibility (C), conservation is specifically highlighted in developmental milestones for this age.

Key concepts

Preoperational Stage

The preoperational stage is the second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, spanning from ages 2 to 7. During this period, children's thinking is characterized by symbolic play and egocentrism. They begin to use language and mental imagery but don't yet grasp complex logic. Children in this stage are limited by a few key cognitive limitations:

• Egocentrism: They often have difficulty seeing things from perspectives other than their own.
• Lack of Conservation: Children at this stage do not understand that quantities remain consistent despite changes in shape or appearance.
• Centration: A tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect others.

Thus, a 4-year-old in the preoperational stage is building crucial cognitive skills but doesn't yet understand complex concepts like conservation, reversibility, and alternative viewpoints.

Conservation

Conservation is the understanding that quantity doesn't change even when its shape or appearance does. For example, if you pour water from a tall, thin glass into a short, wide one, the amount of water remains the same. However, children in the preoperational stage struggle with this concept.

Piaget demonstrated this through his famous conservation tasks. He would show children two equal amounts of liquid in identical containers. When he poured one into a differently shaped container, children often believed the liquid amount had changed. This illustrates how preoperational children focus on the visual appearance rather than underlying reality.

It's because their thinking is still intuitive and not yet logical. They haven't developed the mental operations to understand that transformations don't affect the core attributes of objects.

Reversibility

Reversibility is the ability to understand that objects and numbers can return to their original state. For example, knowing that if you roll out playdough into a snake and then reshape it into a ball, it's still the same playdough.

A child in the preoperational stage lacks this skill. They might not realize that the alterations can be undone. Reversibility is crucial for understanding mathematical concepts and problem-solving.

For instance, an older child or an adult can understand that subtracting a number from a sum will bring you back to the original number. But a preoperational child doesn't grasp this, as they can't yet think backwards or process transformations mentally.

Alternative Points of View

Understanding alternative points of view means recognizing that others may have different thoughts, feelings, and perspectives from one's own. This skill is closely tied to overcoming egocentrism, which is a hallmark of the preoperational stage.

Preoperational children often believe that everyone sees the world as they do. Piaget’s famous 'Three Mountain Task' illustrates this. When asked to describe a scene from another person’s viewpoint, children in this stage describe it from their own perspective.

With age and cognitive development, children start to realize that others have their own unique experiences and viewpoints. This marks the beginning of empathy and more sophisticated social interactions. However, a 4-year-old is not yet adept at seeing things from other people's perspectives.

• Egocentrism – Focus on one’s own view
• Three Mountain Task – Difficulty in perspective-taking
• Empathy development – Comes with age and cognitive growth