What characteristic is associated with the preoperational stage of cognitive development?

The preoperational stage of cognitive development, as defined by psychologist Jean Piaget, typically occurs in children aged 2 to 7 years. One of the hallmark characteristics of this stage is egocentrism. This means that children in the preoperational stage have difficulty seeing things from perspectives other than their own; they tend to assume that others share their viewpoints and feelings. For instance, a child might cover their eyes and believe that if they can’t see someone, that person can't see them either, demonstrating a lack of understanding that others have different viewpoints.

In contrast to egocentrism, logical thinking and abstract reasoning are characteristics that emerge in later stages of development, specifically the concrete operational stage and formal operational stage, respectively. Object permanence, while significant in cognitive development, is typically established before the preoperational stage, occurring during the sensorimotor stage when infants learn that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen. Thus, recognizing egocentrism as a characteristic of the preoperational stage highlights a critical aspect of how children think and interact with their world during this developmental phase.