CHAPTER 3: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL YEARS

Between the ages of 2 and 5 years, children become quite sophisticated in their thinking
Preschool- aged children think problems through before acting. They engage in a new
form of reasoning that is both impressie and fascinating.
!o remarkable are young children"s intellectual abilities as compared to babies" that
adults sometimes forget that preschoolers are still in the early stages of cognitie
deelopment. Parents, caregiers, and teachers need to remember that preschoolers think
in a way that is qualitatiely different from adult cognition.
PIAGETS THEORY OF PRESCHOOL COGNITION
To Piaget#$%52a&, the preschool years are a transitionary period in cognitie
deelopment. 'oung children gradually leae behind the ery early thought processes of
infancy, which were tied e(clusiely to the immediate concrete world, to the here and
now. They can now think beyond ob)ects or people which are immediately before them
and are able to reflect on things that they cannot see, hear, touch, or act upon. They can
imagine, ob)ects or people which are not present, contemplate future eents, and recall
past ones.
*n the other hand, preschoolers do not use logic as adults do, according to Piaget. Their
reasoning is hampered by seeral mental limitations, the most pronounced of which is
still + heay reliance on perception and action. ,lthough preschoolers are reflectie and
insightful, they are easily distracted by the appearance of things in the immediate
enironment. Because preschoolers" thinking is still based so much on perception and
action, Piaget argued that learning at this age requires an enironment which is rich in
sensory e(perience and proides much actiity with ob)ects. Through actie
manipulation of play materials, preschoolers gradually construct an understanding of the
world. Passie models of learning, in which children are instructed directly by adults, is
useless at this age, from Piaget"s perspectie. Preschoolers must act upon ob)ects to learn
about them.
Piaget#$%52a& proides rich descriptions of preschoolers" thinking, or what he called
pre-operational thought, preschoolers" thinking is based to a great e(tent on what they
can see, hear and touch, sometimes young children are fooled by perception. -nstead of
using logic to sole problems, they tend to rely on appearance.
Piaget has described how this perception + based thinking gies rise to certain
misconceptions. *ne is called animism the belief that if something looks alie it is alie.
That is , if something moes, makes noise, or in other ways appears to be liing, then it
must be a liing thing.
, related phenomenon is an inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Piaget
argued that young children tend to beliee that things that appear to be real are real.
Preschoolers tend to focus on only one characteristic of an ob)ect or one feature of a
problem at one time. They are said to centre on a single phenomenon and hae difficulty
co-ordinating more than one idea or actiity.
Piaget#$%52a& has noted children hae difficulty reersing the direction of their thinking.
,ccording to Piaget#$%52a&, preschool- aged children are much better able to sort out
cause and effect than infants. howeer, they are still limited in their causal thinking. *ne
limitation is that they tend to put one immediate eent into relationship with another
immediate eent and leap to an assumption that one causes the other. /or e(ample, if a
child is running in the apartment and at the same moment a plant near a window blows
oer in the wind, the child will associate the two eents and assume that his running
caused the plant to fall., Piaget called this faulty causal thinking transductive reasoning.
Transductie reasoning cause stress and guilt in young children. /or e(ample, if a child
is misbehaing )ust as police arrie at the apartment door to arrest a relatie, she could
assume that she caused the arrest and feel guilt. 0arbarino, 1ubrow, 2ostelny and Pardo,
#$%%2&. *r, if a child is scolded for being too actie and loud, and then moments later is
informed that his parents are separating, he is likely to feel guilt at causing the separation
#3ethrington, $%4%&. ,dults must be ery careful to clarify for preschoolers the nature of
relationships between negatie life eents.
Piaget proposed that preschool aged children are still quite egocentric. ,s discussed in
earlier chapters, it is important to distinguish egocentrism form negatie emotional states
such as self + centerdness or selfishness. 5gocentrism is a cognitie state. 6hildren at
this age do not set out to be egocentric, nor is this way of thinking brought on by their
being spoiled or poorly sociali7ised. 8o amount of parent or teacher interention will
alter children"s egocentric iew of the world.
Piaget#Piaget and -nhelder, $%9:& deised an e(periment to show the intellectual quality
of preschool egocentrism. -n Piaget"s classic ;three mountain problem<, children were
asked to sit at a table and look at a model of three mountains arranged on a particular
design. , doll was positioned across from each child, and the child was asked to ; draw
a picture that shows what the doll sees<. ,ccording to piaget, children under 9 years of
age would inariably draw the scene not from the doll"s perspectie but from their own.
8ot until the elementary years were children able to understand that the doll"s perspectie
is different from their own and present this in their drawings. 6riticisms of this
e(periment are presented in a later section= nonetheless, the findings this early study do
proide an e(cellent e(ample of how difficult it is for some children to take other"s
perspecties.
*f course, egocentrism can hae its challenges. , child may hae difficulty
understanding that others hae needs and desires.
*ne of the most significant adancements in the preschool years, according to Piaget, is
the acquisition of symbolic thought. This is a form of thinking in which symbols are used
to stand for things, which are not present. >anguage is the best e(ample of symbolic
thought. when speaking, children use words as symbols to stand for things. !ymbolic
thought begins in late infancy. Toddlers use concrete ob)ects to represent absent
referents= , toy telephone is used to make a pretend call, or an empty cup is used to drink
pretend milk. They also use simple words to present actions, persons or ob)ects. >ater,
in the preschool years, children begin to use more abstract symbols, or what piaget called
!igns. !ophisticated sentences are constructed to stand for whole ideas= drawing and
scribbling are used to ;write< stories. 'oung children engage in Symbolic play . comple(
make + beliee in which they use gestures, ob)ects, or their own bodies to stand for
things which are completely different.
Role of Language and So!al In"e#a"!on
C$!ld#en% "$!n&!ng !f !nfluened '( !n"e#a"!on% and on)e#%a"!on *!"$ o"$e#
+eo+le, T$e %"o#( 'elo* !llu%"#a"e% $o* %o!al !n"e#a"!on% !nfluene $!ld#en%
+#o'le- %ol)!ng,
*ne concern raised about Piaget"s theory is that it does not fully recogni7e the
contributions of language and social interaction in deelopment. ?any of Piaget"s
obserations were of indiidual children, and his tasks were designed to be completed by
one child at a time. @hen he wrote about the importance of interactions with peers, his
ideas were confined primarily to how arguments with other children reduce egocentrism.
Piaget did not emphasi7e the role of adults in his work. -n his descriptions of his own
children at play, references to parents were so rare that some readers hae humorously
asked, ;@hen was ?rs. PiagetA<
Scaffolding Bygotsky#$%C4& was one of the first to note that young children do not show
their highest leels of thinking when they are alone. 3e argued that when children get
support from a more competent peer or an adult, they are far better able to sole
problems, as demonstrated in the aboe story. Through social communication, more
competent children and adults Scaffold learning= that is, they guide or prompt less
competent children to higher leels of independent problem soling.
Parents and teachers are also found to naturally scaffold children"s learning#/reund,
$%%D&. They ask questions, gie hints, or in other ways guide problem soling while at
the same time giing as much responsibility as possible to the child. ,gain, a supportie
structure is proided for problem soling, the actual solution, howeer, is left up to the
children.
T$e .one of P#o/!-al De)elo+-en" Eesearch supports Bygotsky"s contention that
young children"s thinking is enhanced when they receie assistance from peers or adults
interactions are most useful when they take place within the zone of proximal
development. This is the point at which a task or problem is challenging but not
insurmountable, so that a child is able to achiee mastery with )ust a little assistance from
others.
Language and Private Speech Bygotsky also suggested that language plays a critical
role in cognition. 3e noted hat preschoolers engage in private speech= language
that is not directed toward anyone else. This kind of talking to one"s self is
common as preschoolers play or go about completing tasks. Bygotsky argued
that this inner directed language helps children to guide their own attention and to
organi7e ideas internally.#5en adults talk to themseles quite often to guide their
thinking . !ome readers of this te(t may hae read some of the more comple(
passages aloud to themseles, although hopefully not in public placesF& @ith age,
priate speech becomes less audible as children internali7e their self- directed
erbali7ations. 5entually, internali7ed messages become part of the comple(
thought process required for learning in adulthood.
@here does priate speech come fromA /rom Bygotsky"s iew , it originates from erbal
instructions, guidance or other messages from adults and peers. @hen a parent says to a
child in a mosque, ;!it still and pray<, the child may be heard repeating this phrase
quietly to guide self +control. 6ontrary to Piaget"s position. Bygotsky belieed that
such direct erbal instructions from adults contribute significantly to cognitie
deelopment.
, number of research studies hae shown that priate speech contributes to learning.
Preschoolers use more priate speech when they are completing difficult tasks or are
confused, suggesting that it is a commonly used tool for problem +soling. #Berk, $%4G&.
6hildren who are cognitiely adance hae been found to use priate speech earlier and
more frequently #Berk, $%49&= they also show high leels of social competence #Berk,
$%45&. >anguage, whether receied from adults or directed toward one"s self, appears to
enhance cognitie deelopment in a way not fully appreciated by Piaget.
ASSIGNMENT0PRACTISE
Perform conseration tasks with two
preschool children of different ages#e.g., G
years +old and a 5 year + old& in a child
care setting or home each child should be
indiidually tested away from distractions.
1escriptions of these tasks are found in the
chapter a brief oeriew of procedures is
below.
Conservation of Number: >ine up eight to
ten red and black checkers in one- to +one
correspondence, so that it is easy to see
there are as many red as black ones. Point
to each line and ask the child, ;,re there
more red checkers, more black checkers, or
the same amount of red and black
checkersA<.
,fter the child says aloud that the two lines
hae the same number of checkers, gather
one line of checkers into a pile while
leaing the other arranged in a line . ,sk
the same question gien aboe. 1oes the
child state now that one set has more
checkersA. -f so, ask the child to count
both sets, then ask the questions again.
6hallenge the child in other ways. ; 'ou
said they both had the same number of
checkers before, rememberA ,nd - didn"t
add any or take any checkers away.
!oH..<then reap the question.
Conservation of Continuous Quantity: /ill
tow identical clear containers#Tall, thin
laboratory beakers work ery well& with
water so that both contain the same
amount. Point to each container and ask,
;1oes this container hae more water, or
do they both hae the same amounts of
waterA< -f the child says one container has
more, pour a little out of that one until the
child states that the two containers hold the
same amount of water.
*nce the child says that the two containers
hold equialent amounts, pour the water
from one of the containers into another,
wider container really hae moreA<
@rite a report on your e(periments, guided
by the following questions.
a. 1id children perform on these
tasks as Piaget would hae predictedA.
-n what ways were the two children
different in their problem solingA
b. 3ow was each child"s performance
influenced by perception-based
thinkingA By uni-dimensional thoughtA.
By difficulty reersing an operationA
c. @hat can you conclude about
young children"s thinkingA. -n what
2. Perform the same two e(periments
described in actiity number - with
children of two different ages. This time,
howeer, hae them complete the tasks
together. ,llow them to discuss and argue
about the problem as you conduct the two
e(periments. Take notes on children"s
interactions. >ater, write a report on your
e(periences guided by the following
questions.
a. 3ow did the performance of the
two children differ from actiity
number $A
b. @hat role did each child play in the
problem-soling processA 3ow
was the older child different from
the younger in these interactionsA
c. 1id you see signs of scaffoldings
by the older child, as defined in the
chapterA.
d. @hat role did language play in the
process. 1id either child instruct
the other erballyA 1id you hear
any priate speechA
:. *bsere a group of preschool children of
dierse cultural backgrounds in a class
room. @atch them as they interact in
different kinds of play and learning
actiities #e.g., dramatic play, pu77les,
blocks, art, and group time&. ,ttempt to
identify a child who you beliee to be field
independent, based on descriptions in this
chapter. -dentify a child whom you beliee
to be field sensitie. >ater, write a
description of the two children, guided by
the following questions.
a. @hat behaiors led you to beliee
that one of the children you selected
was field independentA @hat led
you to conclude the other was field
sensitieA
b. 6ontrast the social interactions of
the field-independent child with
ways were you impressed with these
children"s problem solingA. -n what
way was their thinking limited A
those of the field-sensitie child. -n
what ways were their problem-
soling strategies #e.g., making
pu77les, building with blocks&
differentA
G. *bsere a preschool child for at least
one hour in a classroom. ,s you obsere,
record any eident of a deeloping theory
of the mind, as described in this chapter.
@atch for indicators of the child"s theories
about emotional states, intentions and
moties, and knowing and remembering.
Pay special attention to the words the child
uses, >ater, write a report on your
obseration guided by the following
questions .
a. @hat language or social behaiors
did you obsere, if any, which
indicate that this child understands
internal emotional states A
b. @hat indicators were there, if any,
that the child was aware of moties
and intentions A
c. @hat behaiors did you obsere
that showed the child was aware of
internal processes of learning,
remembering and knowingA.