Which Piagetian concept describes paying attention to multiple aspects of a situation, usually around age 4?

• A. Conservation
• B. Centration
• C. Decentration
• D. Object permanence

Answer: (C)

Decentration is the ability to attend to multiple aspects of a situation at once, rather than getting stuck on a single feature. This means a child can consider more than one dimension or attribute when reasoning. For example, in liquid-quantity tasks, a child who can decenter will recognize that pouring juice into a taller, thinner glass doesn’t change the amount of liquid, because they’re evaluating both height and width, not just one aspect. This shift toward multi‑aspect thinking helps explain why children begin to grasp conservation and more complex relationships as they move beyond the most stage of early preschool thinking. In contrast, centration is when a child focuses on one dimension, such as only the height of the liquid, and ignores other relevant aspects. Object permanence is about knowing objects still exist when not seen, and conservation is the specific idea that quantity stays the same despite changes in appearance, which relies on decentration but is a more precise application of it.