What characterizes children in the preoperational stage according to Piaget?

Children in the preoperational stage, as defined by Piaget, are characterized by egocentric thinking, which means they have difficulty seeing perspectives other than their own. During this stage, typically from ages 2 to 7, children tend to view the world primarily from their own experiences and cannot easily understand that others may have different viewpoints or feelings.

Egocentrism manifests in various ways; for example, a child might assume that everyone sees the same thing they do, or they may struggle to recognize that someone else may not have the same knowledge or thoughts about a situation. This lack of perspective-taking is a crucial element of cognitive development in young children, as they still rely heavily on their immediate thoughts and experiences without the ability to comprehend a broader or more abstract viewpoint.

In contrast, aspects like abstract thinking or understanding conservation of mass are characteristics associated with later developmental stages, not the preoperational stage. Children only develop the ability to think abstractly and understand complex concepts like conservation as they transition into the concrete operational stage, which begins around age 7.