What did Piaget and Inhelder's three mountains study show about egocentrism?
Core study: Piaget and Inhelder (1956), the three mountains task, including its aim, method, results, conclusion and evaluation.
A focused answer to the Edexcel GCSE Psychology Topic 1 core study, Piaget and Inhelder (1956): the aim, method, results, conclusion and evaluation of the three mountains task on egocentrism.
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What this dot point is asking
Edexcel wants you to know the Piaget and Inhelder (1956) core study in detail (aim, method, results, conclusion) and to evaluate it. The study tested egocentrism, a key feature of Piaget's preoperational stage, using the famous three mountains task. Core studies are examined with describe, explain and evaluate questions, including extended-response items, so learn all four parts plus two evaluation points.
Aim and method
The aim was to investigate whether young children could take a viewpoint other than their own, that is, whether they were egocentric.
The method used a three-dimensional model of three mountains, each with a distinctive feature (for example snow on one, a cross on another, a small hut on a third) so that the view differed depending on where you stood. A child sat on one side of the model. A doll was placed at a different position around the model. The child was then shown a set of ten pictures of the scene from different viewpoints and asked to pick the picture that showed what the doll could see. The procedure was standardised so it could be repeated with many children of different ages.
Results and conclusion
The result fits Piaget's wider claim that thinking develops through fixed stages, with egocentrism a hallmark of preoperational thought that fades as the child matures.
Evaluating the study
You must be able to evaluate the study from both sides.
Strengths. The procedure was standardised (the same model, doll positions and pictures every time), making it replicable and its results reliable. The findings also fit Piaget's wider theory, giving converging evidence for egocentrism.
Weaknesses. The task is artificial and unfamiliar: a model of three mountains is nothing like a child's everyday experience, so it may underestimate children. Choosing from ten pictures is cognitively demanding, so a wrong choice might reflect task difficulty rather than true egocentrism. Crucially, when the task is made more child-friendly (as in Hughes' policeman doll task, where children as young as four hid a boy doll from one or two policeman dolls), children can take another viewpoint, suggesting Piaget overstated egocentrism.
How this is examined
Edexcel tests core studies with describe questions (aim, method, results), explain questions (why the result occurred) and evaluate questions, including extended-response items worth up to 9 marks. For evaluation, plan a strength, a weakness, supporting evidence (such as Hughes) and a clear conclusion.
Try this
Q1. What was the aim of Piaget and Inhelder's three mountains study? [1 mark]
- Cue. To investigate whether young children are egocentric (can take another viewpoint).
Q2. State one strength of the study. [2 marks]
- Cue. The standardised procedure makes it replicable and the results reliable.
Q3. Explain one reason the study may underestimate children. [2 marks]
- Cue. The task is artificial and demanding; on simpler tasks like Hughes' policeman task children take another viewpoint earlier.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20184 marksDescribe the method used in Piaget and Inhelder's (1956) three mountains study. (Paper 1)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Describe item rewards an accurate account of the procedure.
Children were shown a three-dimensional model of three mountains, each with a different feature (such as snow, a cross or a hut). The child sat on one side and a doll was placed at a different position around the model. The child was shown a set of ten pictures of the scene taken from different viewpoints and asked to choose the picture that showed what the doll could see. The task tested whether children could take a viewpoint other than their own.
Markers reward the model of three distinct mountains, the doll at a different position, and the child choosing the picture matching the doll's view. The strongest answers note the child was choosing from pictures of different viewpoints.
Edexcel 20229 marksEvaluate Piaget and Inhelder's (1956) three mountains study as evidence for egocentrism in young children. (Paper 1)Show worked answer →
A 9-mark Evaluate item rewards a balanced argument with strengths, weaknesses and a conclusion.
Strengths: the study had a clear, standardised procedure (the same model, doll positions and pictures), so it is replicable and reliable; its results fit Piaget's wider theory, supporting the idea that preoperational children are egocentric because younger children tended to choose their own view rather than the doll's.
Weaknesses: the task is artificial and unfamiliar, so it may underestimate children, who can succeed on simpler perspective tasks (for example Hughes' policeman doll task, where children as young as four hid a boy doll from policemen, showing they could take another viewpoint). Choosing from pictures is also cognitively demanding, so a wrong answer may reflect task difficulty rather than true egocentrism. The model is far from a child's everyday experience, lowering ecological validity.
Conclusion: the study supports egocentrism in young children but probably overstates it, because more child-friendly tasks show perspective-taking earlier. Markers reward developed points on both sides, use of evidence such as Hughes, and a justified conclusion (extended-response items also credit clear written communication).
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Psychology (1PS0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2017)