Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 preoperational stage  is the use of language. Children develop internal representa-
tional systems that allow them to describe people, events, and feelings. They even use 
symbols in play, pretending, for example, that a book pushed across the fl oor is a car.
Although children use more advanced thinking in this stage than they did in the 
earlier sensorimotor stage, their thinking is still qualitatively inferior to that of adults. 
We see this when we observe a preoperational child using  egocentric thought,  a way 
of thinking in which the child views the world entirely from his or her own perspective. 
Preoperational children think that everyone shares their perspective and knowledge. 
sensorimotor stage
According to 
Piaget, the stage from birth to 2 years, 
during which a child has little compe-
tence in representing the environment 
by using images, language, or other 
symbols.
object permanence
The awareness 
that objects—and people—continue to 
exist even if they are out of sight.
preoperational stage
According to 
Piaget, the period from 2 to 7 years of 
age that is characterized by language 
development.
egocentric thought
A way of thinking 
in which a child views the world
entirely from his or her own perspective.
FIGURE 9
According to Piaget, all children pass through four stages of cognitive development.
Cognitive Stage 
Approximate Age Range 
Major Characteristics
Sensorimotor 
Birth–2 years 
Development of object permanence,
development of motor skills, little
or no capacity for symbolic
representation
Preoperational 
2–7 years 
Development of language and
symbolic thinking, egocentric thinking
Concrete operational 
7–12 years 
Development of conservation, mastery
of concept of reversibility
Formal operational 
12 years–adulthood 
Development of logical and abstract
thinking
Study Alert
Use Figure 9 to help remem-
ber Piaget’s stages of 
cognitive development.
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