The complexity preferences of 60 fifth-grade children were assessed using embedded-figure designs. Children were classified into different Piagetian stages of intellectual development according to their performance on four tasks: (a) conservation of quantity, (b) conservation of number, (c) composition of classes, and (d) egocentricity in the representation of objects. With transitional subjects deleted, the predicted Piagetian Group × Complexity Level interaction was significant (p < .05). Concrete operational subjects preferred more complex designs than preoperational subjects. In addition, the results indicated that female subjects preferred more complex designs than did male subjects (p < .005).
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