EGOCENTRISM IN OLDER ADULTS-PIAGET'S THREE MOUNTAINS TASK REVISITED

Seventy-seven community-resident volunteers, principally in their fifties and older, were tested on Piaget's three mountains task (Piaget & Inhelder, 1956). There was a significant decrease in performance with age characterised by choosing a picture which was ''nearly right,'' and more notably, a statistically significant rise in egocentric responses. While the findings further support the argument that Piaget's task is too difficult, forcing errors in nonegocentric participants, the presence of egocentric responses in older adults does not support a simple information processing explanation. Reasons for this are discussed.