The conservation abilities of middle-aged and elderly adults were compared. The design was a 3 (noninstitutionalized middle-aged, noninstitutionalized elderly, and institutionalized elderly) × 2 (male and female) × 3 (substance, weight, and volume conservation) × 2 (judgment and explanation responses) factorial design. The results of both an analysis of variance and correlational analyses indicated that age was not significantly related to conservation performance. Likewise, no significant institutionalization or sex effects were obtained. However, correlational analyses yielded a significant positive relationship between education and conservation.
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