An Experimental Test of the Effects of Internal and External Disequilibrium on Spatial Reasoning Development.

This study investigated several levels of internal and external disequilibrium and their interaction. Subjects were 63 fifth graders assigned to three groups according to their degree of internal disequilibrium. Internal disequilibrium was measured by the amount "level mixture" (a tendency to respond to various events at several different reasoning levels) demonstrated on a map drawing pretest. Within each internal disequilibrium group subjects were assigned to low, middle or high external disequilibrium conditions, in which they received training on maps drawn at their own modal level, and one level above, or at two levels above. Post testing was conducted using the map drawing task, two spatial reasoning tasks and a delayed posttest. Findings suggest that: (1) external disequilibrium determines primarily the direction of discrepancy between existing and presented cognitive modes and is therefore an important factor influencing the direction of change; (2) internal disequilibrium relates to instability and may therefore primarily affect the amount of change; and (3) under conditions conducive to progressive change, bias distinguishes between subjects likely to advance in modal level and those likely to undergo further elaboration and consolidation of the current level. (Author/GO)