Stade de l'Intelligence Symbolique (Préopératoire)

Stade de l'Intelligence Symbolique (Préopératoire)

• Introduction: This stage (ages 2-7/8) marks the emergence of symbolic thought, including drawing, symbolic play, and mental imagery. Socialization, moral sentiments, interests, and values develop during this period.
• Three Sub-stages: The stage is divided into three sub-stages:
• I (2-4 years): Focuses on acquiring symbolic function.
• II (4-6 years): Characterized by egocentric thought and organizing representations.
• III (6-7/8 years): Intuitive thinking with regulated reasoning.

What is Preoperational Intelligence?

• Definition: This stage runs from around age 2 to 7/8, marked by the development of symbolic language.
• Symbolic Thinking: Children develop the ability to represent objects and ideas with symbols (words, images).
• Limitations: Thinking is heavily focused on the present and concrete situations, limiting abstract concepts. Difficulty manipulating abstract thoughts, and egocentric, assuming others view the world as they do.
• Understanding of Concepts: Children develop understanding of quantity, space, and the difference between past and future.

Sub-stages of Preoperational Intelligence

• 2.1 Acquisition of Semiotic Function (2-4 years): Children distinguish between signifiers and signifieds, learning to use symbols to represent things.

• Imitation: Early symbolic thought involves imitation, including imitations of actions and situations.

• Deferred Imitation: Imitation of a previously observed action or object even in its absence.

• Symbolic Play: Children use objects to represent other objects(e.g., a stick as a horse, a blanket as a fort).

• 2.2 Representation (4 - 6 years):

• Causality: Children attempt to explain events, through concepts like transduction, artificialism, finalism, and animism (inanimate objects have characteristics and behaviours of living things) and moral causality.

• Egocentrism: Children have difficulty understanding different perspectives and assume others see the world similarly to them.

• Centration: They focus on a single feature of a situation, ignoring others.

• Irreversibility: Inability to mentally reverse actions.

• 2.3 Intuitive Thinking (6-7/8 years): Thought is characterized by focusing on appearances rather than logic.

• Conservation: Inability to understand that even when appearance changes, quantity or amount may remain the same (e.g., equal amounts of liquid in two different shaped glasses).

• Conclusion: An understanding of the different characteristics of the preoperational intelligence is crucial to comprehend the development of the child's thought process.