Preoperational stage

The Preoperational stage is the second of four stages of cognitive development theorized in Piaget's theory. By observing sequences of play, Piaget was able to demonstrate that towards the end of the second year a qualitatively quite new kind of psychological functioning occurs. Operation in Piagetian theory is any procedure for mentally acting on objects.

According to Piaget, the Sensorimotor stage of development is followed by this stage (2-7 years), which includes the following processes:

Symbolic functioning - is characterised by the use of mental symbols, words or pictures which the child uses to represent something which is not physically present.

Centration - is indicated by a child focusing on only one dimension of an item, such as the height of water in a container, rather than on two dimensions: height and width.

Intuitive thought - occurs when the child is able to believe in something without knowing why she or he believes it.

Inability to Conserve -Through Piaget's conservation experiments (conservation of mass, volume and number) Piaget concluded that children in the preoperational stage will not be able to understand that the mass, volume or number of an item has not changed after the original form has changed; e.g., when you pour water into a taller, thinner container, the amount of water does not change.

The next stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development is the Concrete Operational stage.