FIGURE 14 (S804F): Pseudoconceptual reasoning within a collection complex

In the case of the eight-year-old participant in Figure 14 (S804F), who took 42 minutes to “play the game” and relied on 21 blocks to be turned over, the combination of height and size remained undiscovered.

In a long and determined process of continued collections where the characteristics became more mixed (Figure 14), this eight-year-old had turned all of the lag and mur blocks and had described one group as tall (mur) and one as big (lag). In spite of the perceptually obvious clues of the lag and mur blocks with their names revealed, the pseudoconceptual nature of this participant’s reasoning became clear: she maintained that the yellow cev circle (unturned, top right) belonged to the bik group because it was yellow and that the white bik triangle (unturned) would also need to be included “because it is an odd colour”. Furthermore, the orange bik trapezoid (unturned, bottom right) needed to be with the cev group because it was the same height.

Only once these blocks were turned over and their names were revealed did the participant notice that the cev and bik blocks were respectively flat and wider, and very small and flat. She did not extend this principle across the four groups: the groups had been formed by being guided by the labels and not by her usage of association, collections, and mixed principles. This participant elected not to attempt a resorting of the blocks, as doubtless her attention span and repertoire of approaches had reached their limit. Throughout her session, this participant cheerfully displayed no regard for the totality or for the need for consistency, and it would appear that the tendency to put things together because they are “different” or “completely different” (with a charming lilt to her voice) provides a cut-off point which prevents participants such as this one from progressing beyond a limiting, inconsistent, insensitive-to-contradiction – pseudoconceptual – approach to solving the problem of the blocks.