Final answer:
For a 3-year-old child like Cali, pretend play would be the most likely activity seen, reflecting the developmental stage of preoperational thinking focused on symbolic play and burgeoning theory-of-mind skills.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the options given for what a 3-year-old child like Cali would most likely be doing, pretend play is the most appropriate behavior. At this age, children are in the preoperational stage of cognitive development according to Piaget, where they are known to engage in pretend play and use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas. Children at this age do engage with concrete objects, but they are not yet able to apply formal logic or think abstractly in a sophisticated manner.
Therefore, while Cali might realize that an object can be moved by a hand, which reflects a basic understanding of physical properties and cause-and-effect, the more distinctive cognitive behavior for a 3-year-old would be engaging in pretend play. This type of play allows them to express their growing imagination and cognitive abilities, such as theory-of-mind (TOM), which helps them to understand that other people have different thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.