The preoperational stage is part of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, typically occurring from ages 2 to 7.
It is divided into two substages:
Symbolic Function Substage (ages 2-4)
Intuitive Thought Substage (ages 4-7)
Symbolic Function Substage
Age Range: 2-4 years
Key Characteristics:
Emergence of symbolic representation, allowing children to use symbols (words, drawings, pretend play) to represent objects not present.
Symbolic representation is foundational for language development and imaginative play.
Manifestations:
Language Use: Words represent objects or ideas beyond immediate experience.
Object Substitution: Using one object to represent another, e.g., using a banana as a phone.
Drawing: Early forms of drawing to symbolize objects or ideas.
Gestures: Movements that symbolize actions or objects.
Piaget's View
Piaget viewed language as a reflection of cognitive development rather than a facilitator.
Early Forms of Animism
Definition: Attribution of life-like qualities to inanimate objects.
Characteristics:
Broad application to many objects, especially those that move.
Emotional connections to important objects, e.g., toys.
Pretend Play
Description: Use of imagination to create scenarios and roles.
Characteristics:
Object substitution and role-playing.
Creation of imaginary scenarios.
Symbolic actions representing complex activities.
Parallel Play
Description: Playing alongside peers without direct interaction.
Characteristics:
Independent play in a group setting.
Minimal interaction, with a focus on personal activities.
Intuitive Thought Substage
Age Range: 4-7 years
Key Characteristics:
Reliance on intuition and perception over logical reasoning.
Centration
Definition: Focusing on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others.
Characteristics:
Single-focus attention and lack of reversibility.
Egocentrism
Definition: Inability to see situations from others' perspectives.
Characteristics:
Difficulty distinguishing others’ perspectives.
Challenges in empathy and understanding others’ feelings.
More Developed Forms of Animism
Focus on moving objects and their perceived life-like qualities.
Artificialism
Definition: Belief that natural phenomena are created by humans for specific purposes.
Characteristics:
Attribution of human creation to natural events.
Irreversibility
Definition: Inability to mentally reverse sequences of events.
Characteristics:
Difficulty understanding conservation and bidirectional processes.
Social Play
Transition from solitary/parallel play to cooperative play.
Role negotiation and emotional management in play scenarios.
Piaget’s Experiments
The Three Mountains Task
Aim: Test for egocentrism in children.
Findings: Younger children show strong egocentrism; older children (7-8 years) show understanding of multiple perspectives.
Policeman Doll Study (Hughes, 1975)
Demonstrated that children could understand multiple viewpoints when tasks made sense to them.
The Turntable Task (Borke, 1975)
Found that children could select correct viewpoints with familiar tasks and settings.
Limitations in the Child’s Thinking
Key Limitations:
Centration and focus on perceptual changes.
Irreversibility and difficulty with conservation.
Egocentric and perception-bound thinking.
Conclusion
The preoperational stage is marked by significant advancements in symbolic thought but is limited by egocentrism, centration, and irreversibility. These limitations persist until children transition to the concrete operational stage.