Jake's Hide-and-Seek Game and Piaget's Cognitive Development Stages

Jake's Hide-and-Seek Game

Jake is playing hide-and-seek with his mother. Jake runs over to the couch and hides his head under a pillow. Because Jake cannot see anything, he doesn’t think his mother can see him.

Behavioral Characteristic and Piaget's Cognitive Stages

Question:

Jake is exhibiting a behavioral characteristic of which of Piaget’s cognitive stages of development?

Answer:

Pre-operational stage

Explanation:

The pre-operational stage is the second stage of Piaget's developmental cognitive theory. This stage starts at 2 years and ends up at the age of 7 years. During this stage, children think symbolically rather than using cognitive interpretation. A child is not able to use mental representation, meaning they do not use logic during this stage.

Centration is the main characteristic of this stage, where the child focuses only on one aspect of a situation rather than considering both sides. Children have difficulty focusing on multiple aspects of a situation at this stage. Additionally, children's thoughts and communication are egocentric, meaning they see only their own viewpoint rather than considering others' perspectives.