AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -2. The preoperational stage (2–7 years) During this stage, children build on object permanence and continue to develop abstract mental processes. This means they can think about things beyond the physical world, such as things that happened in the past.

Detailed explanation-2: -Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development is called the preoperational stage and coincides with ages 2-7 (following the sensorimotor stage).

Detailed explanation-3: -Preoperational Stage During this stage (toddler through age 7), young children are able to think about things symbolically. Their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and engage in make-believe.

Detailed explanation-4: -The preoperational stage is divided into two substages: the symbolic function substage (ages 2-4) and the intuitive thought substage (ages 4-7). Around the age of 2, the emergence of language demonstrates that children have acquired the ability to think about something without the object being present.

Detailed explanation-5: -Characteristics of the Preoperational Stage During the preoperational stage, children also become increasingly adept at using symbols, as evidenced by the increase in playing and pretending. 1 For example, a child is able to use an object to represent something else, such as pretending a broom is a horse.