Human Growth and Development / Unit 9 HGD 1238 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Pendulum Task
Captions available
The idea
In Inhelder and Piaget's pendulum task, children discover which factor, string length, weight, drop height or push, governs how fast a pendulum swings.
In practice
A concrete thinker changing everything at once, while a formal thinker varies one factor at a time.
Where people slip
Most children under twelve run biased experiments and conclude whatever they already believed; systematic testing marks formal thought.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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