preoperational stage
Summary
In Piaget's theory, the preoperational stage (roughly ages 2 to 7) is when children use symbols such as words and pretend play but cannot yet perform logical mental operations. The most testable points are egocentrism and failure of conservation, which typically resolve in the concrete operational stage.
Detail
Meaning: In Piaget's theory, this second stage follows the sensorimotor stage and spans roughly ages 2 to 7. Children gain symbolic thought, using words, drawings and pretend play to represent absent objects, but they lack operations, meaning logical mental rules that can be reversed. Thinking is strongly influenced by appearance. Features include egocentrism (difficulty taking another person's viewpoint), centration (focusing on one feature of a situation), animism (treating objects as alive), and failure of conservation.
On the MCAT: A vignette shows a child watching water poured from a short wide glass into a tall thin one and saying the tall glass holds more. That is failure of conservation, caused by centration on height. In the three-mountains task, a child describes the view as the one they see themselves: egocentrism. Using a banana as a telephone shows symbolic thought. Questions ask you to identify the stage from a behavior or to put the four stages in order: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational.
Common confusion: Egocentrism here is a limit in perspective-taking, not selfishness. Conservation is typically mastered in the concrete operational stage, and object permanence is a sensorimotor achievement, so do not assign either to this stage. Age ranges are approximate.
Sources
- Psychology (Myers)
- Discovering Psychology (Hockenbury)
- Development Across the Life Span (Feldman)
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.