Final answer:
The preoperational stage is the second stage of Piaget's cognitive development, ranging from ages 2 to 7 years old, where children begin to use symbols and language but cannot perform operations or understand the conservation principle.
Step-by-step explanation:
Preoperational Stage of Development
The preoperational stage is the second stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development, encompassing the ages of approximately 2 to 7 years old. During this stage, children begin to engage in symbolic play and learn to manipulate symbols, but they are not yet capable of performing operations, which are mental acts that follow systematic, logical rules. For instance, they might engage in pretend play, imagining that they are pilots or knights based on their interpretation of objects like brooms or sticks. At this stage, children also start to use language to communicate and express ideas. However, they struggle with understanding adult logic or mentally manipulating information and are egocentric, meaning they find it difficult to see situations from perspectives other than their own.
A characteristic example of the limitations of the preoperational stage is the lack of understanding of the principle of conservation. Conservation is the concept that certain properties of an object remain the same despite changes in the object's form or appearance when nothing is added or removed. An illustrative example of this is when a child believes that they have more of something, like pizza, simply because it is cut into more pieces, not recognizing the equality of the total amount.