What is the term for a child's struggle to understand that an object can return to its original state after being changed?

The term that describes a child's struggle to understand that an object can return to its original state after being changed is "reversibility." This concept is a pivotal part of cognitive development, particularly in Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which indicates that children in the concrete operational stage begin to grasp the idea that physical transformations can be reversed. For example, if a child sees a ball of clay being flattened, they may initially struggle to understand that the clay can be reshaped back into a ball. Recognizing reversibility allows children to comprehend that certain changes, such as those involving volume or shape, can be undone, which is an important aspect of logical thinking and problem-solving.

The other concepts relate to different cognitive processes. Transformation refers to the process of changing from one state to another, while conservation refers to the understanding that certain properties of objects (like volume, mass, or number) remain constant despite changes in their form or arrangement. Permutation relates to the arrangement of elements and does not directly connect to a child's understanding of changes being reversible. Thus, reversibility is the key concept that accurately addresses the child's cognitive challenge regarding changes to an object's state.