Final answer:
The idea that egocentric thought in the preoperational stage is intentional selfishness is false; rather, it's a cognitive limitation where children cannot understand perspectives outside their own.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that egocentric thought refers to how children in the preoperational stage intentionally think in a selfish or inconsiderate manner is false. Egocentric thought in Piaget's preoperational stage refers to the cognitive limitation of children, not an intentional selfishness. During this stage, children struggle to see the world from perspectives other than their own. They may choose gifts based on their own preferences or misunderstand volume and quantity as it appears to them personally, not realizing that others have different views or knowledge.
For example, Piaget's classic Three-Mountain Task demonstrated that children in this stage could not accurately predict what a different scene would look like from another person's point of view. Moreover, as children age and move into later developmental stages, such as Piaget's concrete operational stage, they begin to overcome these egocentric limitations and start to understand that others may have different perspectives and knowledge.