Preoperational Stage Of Piagetian Developmental Stages

Preoperational Stage Of Piagetian Developmental Stages

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development explains that children develop in four different stages: the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stages. The steps range from birth to two years, two years to seven, seven to eleven years, and twelve years and up, respectively (Cherry). The approach forms a basis for understanding how children at different ages behave and act based on their development level. Jean integrates the mental process development to the biological and physical development in association with the environmental experience (Cherry). The different tasks and their importance in the preoperational stage which starts at two years and ends at seven years, will be discussed.

The preoperational stage is the second in Jean's theory. During this period, the child is considered to be thinking on a symbolic level but not using cognitive processes, and it ranges from age two to seven. At this stage, the child is not yet able to perform mental functions despite the thought being egocentric and intuitive (Tyler). Jean's approach to studying and understanding this stage involved several tasks to examine cognitive development. As the name states, it is the step before the operation for the mental functions; hence logic does not apply to this stage.

One of Piaget's tasks is the three mountain task which involves children choosing a mountain scene they have observed from a three-dimensional display, demonstrating egocentrism in children at this age. Piaget used the task to describe how when the children are told to select how an individual on the other side of the mountain would see it, they choose their view (Tyler). This task is relevant to understanding that children at the preoperational stage have difficulty thinking logically and taking another individual's perspective (Tyler). In addition, the tasks give a deeper insight into how children at this stage assume that other people think and see things as they do.

Secondly, Piaget used another task to develop the theory of class inclusions, which tested the children's ability to compare different items and master the hierarchical classification structure. In this task, children are shown an equal amount of water in similar containers then water in one of the fluids is transferred to a container with an irregular shape, like a thinner one or a taller one. The child is then asked to compare and say which matters, and despite being shown they are equal, they will choose the container that appears fully (Tyler). This task is relevant to helping understand that children at the preoperational stage experiences difficulty solving problems related to class inclusion as they do not reason logically (Tyler). Through the task, it is evident that the child’s focus is on one aspect hence bringing out centralism clearly and conservation understanding.

In conclusion, Piaget's theory clearly explains how children at the preoperational stage behave and think. From the tasks, it is clear that preoperational children are egocentric and centralized. At this stage, children fail to understand that other people may perceive things differently from them and hence lack logical thinking. At this age, children use symbols to represent ideas and words. At this stage, the main characteristics seen are egocentrism, conservation, symbolic representation, and centration. 

Bibliography

Cherry, Kenda. “What Are Piaget’s Four Stages of Development?” Verywell Mind, 2020, www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457#:~:text=The%20Preoperational%20Stage&text=Children%20begin%20to%20think%20symbolically. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.

Tyler, Susan. “Chapter 14: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood.” Uark.pressbooks.pub, 26 May 2020, uark.pressbooks.pub/hbse1/chapter/cognitive-development-in-early-childhood_ch_14/#:~:text=Piaget. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.