Psychology2016

Development across the Life Span 327

By the end of the sensorimotor stage, infants have fully developed a sense of object
permanence, the knowledge that an object exists even when it is not in sight. For exam-
ple, the game of “peek-a-boo” is important in teaching infants that Mommy’s smiling
face is always going to be behind her hands. This is a critical step in developing lan-
guage (and eventually abstract thought), as words themselves are symbols of things that
may not be present. Symbolic thought, which is the ability to represent objects in one’s
thoughts with symbols such as words, becomes possible by the end of this stage, with
children at 2 years old capable of thinking in simple symbols and planning out actions.

Why is it so easy for children to believe in Santa Claus and

the Tooth Fairy when they’re little?

THE PREOPERATIONAL STAGE The preoperational stage (ages 2–7) is a time of developing
language and concepts. Children, who can now move freely about in their world, no longer
have to rely only on senses and motor skills but now can ask questions and explore their sur-
roundings more fully. Pretending and make-believe play become possible because children
at this stage can understand, through symbolic thinking, that a line of wooden blocks can
“stand in” for a train. They are limited, however, in several ways. They are not yet capable
of logical thought—they can use simple mental concepts but are not able to use those con-
cepts in a more rational, logical sense. They believe that everything is alive and has feelings
just like their own, a quality called animism, so they might apologize to a chair for bumping
it. They also tend to believe that what they see is literally true, so when children of this age
see Santa Claus in a book, on television, or at the mall, Santa Claus becomes real to them. It
doesn’t occur to them to think about how Santa might get to every child’s house in one night
or why those toys he delivers are the same ones they saw in the store just last week.
Another limitation is egocentrism, the inability to see the world through anyone
else’s eyes but one’s own. For the preoperational child, everyone else must see what the
child sees, and what is important to the child must be important to everyone else. For
example, 2-year-old Hiba, after climbing out of her crib for the third time, was told by
her mother, “I don’t want to see you in that living room again tonight!” So Hiba’s next
appearance was made with her hands over her eyes—if she couldn’t see her mother, her

object permanence

the Mnowledge that an oDLect eZists

even when it is not in sight.

preoperational stage

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive

develoRment in which the Rreschool

child learns to use language as a

means of eZRloring the world.

egocentrism

the inaDility to see the world through

anyone elseos eyes.

Table 8.3 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage Age Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Birth to 2 years old Children explore the world using their senses

and ability to move. They develop object

permanence and the understanding that

concepts and mental images represent objects,

people, and events.

Preoperational 2 to 7 years old Young children can mentally represent and refer

to objects and events with words or pictures,

and they can pretend. However, they can’t

conserve, logically reason, or simultaneously

consider many characteristics of an object.

Concrete

Operations

7 to 12 years old Children at this stage are able to conserve,

reverse their thinking, and classify objects in

terms of their many characteristics. They can

also think logically and understand analogies

but only about concrete events.

Formal

Operations

12 years old to

adulthood

People at this stage can use abstract reasoning

about hypothetical events or situations,

think about logical possibilities, use abstract

analogies, and systematically examine and

test hypotheses. Not everyone can eventually

reason in all these ways.

Interactive