Final answer:
A child who realizes that others can have false beliefs demonstrates that they are overcoming egocentrism, a concept in Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development, and developing their theory-of-mind.
Step-by-step explanation:
A child's realization that others may have beliefs which the child knows to be false best illustrates that the child is not completely egocentric. This concept is deeply embedded in Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development, specifically in the preoperational stage where children begin to understand that others have different perspectives and beliefs. This understanding is an essential part of the theory-of-mind (TOM), which is the ability to recognize that others have separate thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
Piaget's Three-Mountain Task is used to assess egocentrism in children. When a child can understand that another person can have a false belief, they are showing that they can view the world from another person's perspective, overcoming their egocentric nature. This cognitive development progresses as they learn from educational influences and household norms that encourage understanding the perspectives of others.
As children grow and their cognitive abilities develop, they advance beyond egocentrism to understand the generalized other, the societal expectations, and how others perceive them, which is crucial to the development of self. Additionally, children learn to adapt their schemata, which are conceptual frameworks to make sense of the world, through processes of assimilation and accommodation. When they encounter new information, they either assimilate it within their existing framework or accommodate by altering the framework.