Preoperational Stage

COGNITIVE THEORY

Preoperational Stage

(2 – 7 years)

The child in the preoperational stage is not yet able to think logically. With the acquisition of language, the child is able to represent the world through mental images and symbols, but in this stage, these symbols depend on his own perception and his intuition. The preoperational child is completely egocentric. Although he is beginning to take greater interest in objects and people around him, he sees them from only one point of view: his own. This stage may be the age of curiosity; preschoolers are always questioning and investigating new things. Since they know the world only from their limited experience, they make up explanations when they don’t have one. lt is during the preoperational stage that children’s’ thought differs the most from adult thoughts.

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