Utah State Human Development Practice Test

The concept of conservation in Piaget's theory signifies the understanding that certain properties of objects, such as volume, mass, and number, remain constant even when their shape or arrangement changes. This is an essential developmental milestone where a child recognizes that altering the appearance of an object does not affect its fundamental characteristics. The ability to grasp conservation indicates that a child is moving from a preoperational stage of development, characterized by egocentric thought and reliance on visual cues, to a concrete operational stage, where logical reasoning about physical properties becomes evident.

For instance, when a child realizes that pouring water from a short, wide glass into a tall, narrow one does not change the amount of water, they demonstrate an understanding of conservation. This understanding reflects cognitive development, signifying that cognitive processes are maturing and can accommodate more complex and abstract ideas about the physical world.