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The Preoperational Stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development
It is said that Jean Piaget is the originator of cognitive development. He was a Swiss psychologist who studied how children’s minds developed as they were growing up. He claims that
“Cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience.”
He studied the intellectual development of his three children. The sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage, according to Piaget, are the four fundamental phases of cognitive development.
What are the substages of preoperational stage?
Preoperational development starts at age 2 and lasts until age 6 or 7. It is separated into two parts:
Preconceptual stage(2 to 4 years)
At this point, verbal representation is used more frequently. Speech, however, is selfish.
Intuitive Stage (4 to 7 years)
Speech shifts from being egocentric to being more sociable at this point. The youngster begins to base their knowledge on what they believe to be true.
Characteristics of Preoperational stage of Cognitive Development
Identify symbolic meaning
At this age, the youngster starts to use symbols to depict the world. They start to understand that symbols are included in words and things.
Begins to use language
The kid starts using words and symbols. They begin to comprehend their surroundings.
Learns complex mental representation
The youngster can now create more sophisticated mental representations at this time.
Logical thought process
Children at this period begin to think logically and to imagine things.
Stage of Egocentrism
The preoperational period is a time when the kid is egocentric and just thinks about themselves.
Focus on one aspect
Centration occurs at this period, which implies that children exclusively pay attention to one component of an object or circumstance.
Understanding of shapes
Conservation, the idea that even when you alter something’s shape or size, the quantity remains the same, develops at this phase.
