PSY 10: Differentiate Between Thinking Pattern

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Differentiate between thinking pattern
According to Nevid, thinking pattern of a 3-year-old child is quite different from a 9-year-old child (352). Based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, a 3-year-old preschooler is in the stage of pre-operational period (2-7 years old) while a 9-year-old child is the stage of concrete operation period (7-11 years old).
Nevid presents that children under pre-operational stage have the capability to develop the mental representation of reality, although the manner in which they perceive experience is hindered by egocentrism; they do not perceive the world from the point of views of others (353). They are egocentric; they assume that other people feel, think and perceive just the manner in which they do. On the other hand, Nevid says that children based on the concrete operation stage have the capability to decentrate, and, therefore, they embrace the point of views of others because they have grown up (354).
Furthermore, children in the pre-operational stage have developed symbolic and language functions; they have the capability of searching for hidden objects, engaging in symbolic play and performing imitation (Nevid 367). They like using objects to repr...