This study replicated a study by Mehler and Bever (1967) which had reported conservation observed in very young children between 2 years 4 months and 2 years 7 months old. Both Piaget (1968) and Bielen (1968) criticized the Mehler-Bever finding, claiming that true conservation had not been demonstrated. The investigator in the present study sought to determine whether the original study actually showed conservation or whether the results were artifacts of order and position factors superimposed on the chance level of 50% for the binary choice offered subjects. It was found that when the order and position effects in the Mehler-Bever study were reduced, the results were as would be expected from random responses to a binary choice. Thus, the reported conservation behavior in children under 3 appears to have been an artifact of experimental procedure. (MH)