Piaget - Egocentrism

Question 1

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Answer 1

PRE-OPERATIONAL PERIOD

• two to seven years old
• children proposed to think at a symbolic level where symbols eg images used to represent experiences
• use of symbols argued to create more deficiencies during stage than strengths
• example is egocentrism
• child’s tendency to view the world from only their own perspective and failing to understand differing points of view

Question 2

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Answer 2

EMPIRICAL SUPPORT

• naturalistic observations of 3-4y children familiarised with asymmetrical mountain scene
• asked to what a person on opposite side would see
• found that children often describe exact scene in front of them showing failure
• study 2: three mountains presented to child and doll was placed in various locations
• child presented with 10 diff pics from diff angles and asked which one showed dollys view

Question 3

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Answer 3

METHODOLOGICALLY WEAK

• HUGHES argued mountains task was too difficult for child
• developed more comprehensive task:
  3-5y child shown model of two intersecting walls, a boy doll and policeman doll

Policeman placed in diff locations and child asked to then hide boy doll from policeman

Another police brought in and child asked to hide boy from both policeman (taking in account 2 views)

90% correctly answered SO egocentrism occurs before 5y

Contradicts piglet

Question 4

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Answer 4

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• Piagets evidence useful in real world
• SHAYER classroom setting, teachers revised approach and now discourage egocentrism by encouraging child to interact with each other and learn diff views
• according to stages, group activities not useful at this stage as not capable of understanding views

Question 5

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Answer 5

USEFUL

• has helped instigate development of other concepts including animistic thinking suggested to be a result of egocentrism
• tendency for children to perceive non living objects to think feel and act like humans
• Piaget discovered that’s even thou children at this stage of dev can distinguish between living and non living, they still assign inanimate objects humanistic qualities

Question 6

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Answer 6

EGOCENTRISM NOT LIMITED TO ONE STAGE

• ELKIND showed that egocentrism is demonstrated in each stage of Piagets cog dev, not just preoperational
• sensorimotor: egocentrism evidenced when Infant stops looking for object and so child is egocentric in respect to the extent object permanence is confused with object perception

This egocentrism is overcome when child able to form mental representations of absent objects