Water-level task

The water-level task is an experiment in developmental and cognitive psychology [1] developed by Jean Piaget.[2]

The experiment attempts to assess the subject's reasoning ability in spatial relations. To do so the subject is shown pictures depicting various shaped bottles with a water level marked, then shown pictures of the bottles tilted on different angles without the level marked, and the subject is asked to mark where the water level would be.

Sex differences in performance

The water level task has been of interest to psychologists due to puzzling sex differences in performance of the task. Multiple studies have indicated that female participants fail the task at a significantly higher rate than male participants.[3]

References
  1. Ross Vasta; Lynn S. Liben (December 1996). "The Water-Level Task: An Intriguing Puzzle". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 5 (6): 171-177 – via JSTOR.
    - Wesley Jamison; Margaret L. Signorella (June 1980). "Sex-typing and spatial ability: The association between masculinity and success on piaget's water-level task". Sex Roles. 6: 345–353. doi:10.1007/BF00287356.
    - Eva Geiringer; Janet Hyde (June 1976). "Sex differences on Piaget's water-level task: Spatial ability incognito". Perceptual and Motor Skills. 42 (3, Pt 2): 1323-132.
    - Seth C. Kalichmna (September 1988). "Individual differences in water-level task performance: A component-skills analysis". Developmental Review. 8 (3): 273-295. doi:10.1016/0273-2297(88)90007-X.
    - Lynn S Liben. "The Piagetian water-level task: Looking beneath the surface". Annals of child development. 8: 81-143.
  2. Barbel Inhelder; Jean Piaget (1964). The Early Growth of Logic in the Child. The International Library of Psychology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415210010.
    - Ross Vasta R; Jill A. Knott; Christine E. Gaze. "Can Spatial Training Erase the Gender Differences on the Water-Level Task?". Psychology of Women Quarterly. 20 (4). doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00321.x.
  3. Halpern, Diane F. (2012). Sex differences in cognitive abilities (4th ed.). New York: Psychology Press. p. 130–132. ISBN 1848729413.


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