Does class inclusion have mathematical prerequisites?

Abstract

Developmental sequence analysis was used to distinguish between two Piagetian models of class inclusion. The logical inference model (e.g., Inhelder & Piaget, 1959/1969) holds that class inclusion has minimal mathematical prerequisites. The exact compensation model (e.g., Inhelder, Sinclair, & Bovet, 1974) holds that class inclusion has extensive mathematical prerequisites. Two classification tasks (class compensation and class inclusion) and two addition/subtraction tasks (quantitative addition/subtraction and additive composition) were presented to 81 children in kindergarten through third grade. The order relationships among the tasks supported the logical inference model against the exact compensation model. The results are consistent with the view that number and classification are independent cognitive domains through the early school years. © 1991.