Animism and egocentrism are characteristics of this stage, which is divided into the sub-phases of symbolic function and intuitive thought.
One test of this concept saw participants assert that a stone was rolling because it was afraid of the grass and leaves blow because they like to dance. Barbel Inholder asked subjects to identify a doll's viewpoint while looking at 3D display of a mountain during this phase, while another test in which equal amounts of water are poured into identical beakers before being poured into different shaped glasses illustrates subjects do not understand the principle of conservation at this stage. Animism and egocentrism are characteristics of this stage, which is divided into the sub-phases of symbolic function and intuitive thought. This stage occurs between the ages of 2 to 7 and sees children begin to reason. Occurring before the concrete operational phase, for 10 points, name this second stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development.
One test of this concept saw participants assert that a stone was rolling because it was afraid of the grass and leaves blow because they like to dance.
Preoperational (prompt on Piaget's theory of cognitive development)