Building on the theories discussed in infancy and toddlerhood, we will explore Piaget’s preoperational stage in more depth as well as Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. We can see that preschoolers are becoming more logical in their thinking and that they continue to rely on the scaffolding of their caregivers in their daily learning. Children also start to develop their own inner voice at this age, which helps them navigate situations and aids in problem solving.

Piaget and the Preoperational Stage

Preschoolers are now firmly in Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development and continue to build upon the symbolic function substage. They become masters of symbolic thought, which is the ability to mentally or symbolically represent concrete objects, actions, and events (Piaget, 1952). We can witness this advancement through their play, which becomes more elaborate than in infancy and toddlerhood. Younger preschoolers’ understanding of concepts may continue to be limited due to their inability to think abstractly and their focus on the concrete appearance of things (Piaget, 1969). They may also continue to view the world through their own perspectives due to egocentric thinking.

As preschoolers gain higher levels of cognitive functioning, they will move from the symbolic function substage to the intuitive thought substage. In the intuitive thought substage (4–7 years old), children begin to use intuitive thinking, which relies less on perceptions and aims to understand the world through reasoning and logic. In this substage, we will notice an increase in “why?” and “how come?” questions. These questions allow children to determine the cause of something and clarify their understanding. This understanding also helps preschoolers engage in higher levels of problem solving. A preschoolers’ understanding of the world becomes more logical, but they may not be able to fully explain why something happens or why they think the way they do.

Children’s cognitive functioning in the preoperational stage is marked by several important concepts that give insight into their thinking:

• Magical thinking: As noted in Chapter 5, toddlers engage in magical thinking when they believe that their actions or thoughts are connected to an unrelated event that happens to occur simultaneously. Magical thinking continues in the preschool years, although it may diminish as children gain understanding of logical principles. For example, as an older preschooler becomes aware of time, they may realize that it is impossible for Santa Claus to deliver gifts to all the children in the world in one night.
• Transductive reasoning: Transductive reasoning occurs when a child is unable to understand cause and effect logically, so they rely on their natural reasoning. This is similar to magical thinking. An example of this would be a child who is used to getting a phone call from their grandmother in the afternoon and then taking their nap afterward. One day, the grandmother calls in the morning, so the child thinks that it’s now time for a nap. This type of reasoning is an important milestone in reaching higher levels of logic and understanding of cause and effect.
• Conservation: Conservation is the understanding that something can stay the same quantity even though its appearance may change. Children in the preoperational stage demonstrate errors in conservation. For example, a child may think that an 8 oz. (236.6 ml) cup of water poured into a larger cup contains more liquid, even though the amount of water is the same. Children experience centration, which is when they focus on only one aspect of an object (in this case, the larger cup size).
• Reversibility: Closely related to conservation and centration, reversibility refers to the ability to reverse a sequence of events. Children in the preoperational stage are not always able to see that an action can be undone. Using the previous example, a child may not understand that the water poured from the larger cup back into the 8 oz. (236.6 ml) cup is still the same amount of water.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

As mentioned in Chapter 5, Vygotsky believed that children build cognitive skills through their social interactions. Preschoolers are becoming more independent, but they still need their caregiver’s guidance and support. Caregivers can continue to scaffold children’s learning experiences and guide them toward more independence and confidence. These interactions not only increase how much a child learns, but also help them develop more complex mental functions. Vygotsky argued that a child could only develop these types of abilities through interactions with adults or knowledgeable older children.

During the preschool years, children develop a form of self-directed speech, or private speech, in which they engage in a dialogue with themselves to solve a problem or to think something through. This type of verbal thought coincides with gains in language development. Vygotsky believed that once thought and language merged within a child’s development, they could use private speech to assist with their reasoning (Vygotsky, 1987). Children who are exposed to a variety of experiences and social settings will demonstrate increased use of private speech. Therefore, Vygotsky proposed that private speech is a product of a child’s social environment. Children who do not have the same social opportunities may demonstrate delays in private speech development (Vygotsky, 1987).

Cognitive Milestones

Researchers have seen that preschoolers across the United States experience skill development during specific age ranges. It is important to note that each child develops at their own pace and that cognitive milestones will vary between families, communities, and cultures.

Figure 7.4 lists some typical cognitive milestones we expect children to reach between the ages of 3 years old and 6 years old.

Licenses and Attributions for Cognitive Development Theories and Milestones

“Cognitive Development Theories and Milestones” by Christina Belli is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Figure 7.4. Developmental Milestones by the CDC is in the public domain.