Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Cognitive Development
Egocentrism
Meaning in child development & early education, with examples
/ˌiːɡəʊˈsentrɪzəm/nounCommon term
In child development & early education, egocentrism means: In Piaget's theory, a young child's difficulty in seeing a situation from another person's point of view; it is a normal feature of thinking, not selfishness.
In Turkish: benmerkezcilik
How it is used
Linked with Piaget's preoperational stage (about two to seven years) and his three mountains task. The adjective is egocentric. Later research suggests children can take other viewpoints earlier than Piaget thought.
Example sentences
Egocentrism explains why a young child may hold a picture facing himself when showing it to you.
Piaget saw egocentrism as typical of children in the preoperational stage.
Common collocations
childhood egocentrism
egocentric thinking
three mountains task
preoperational stage
Related terms
theory of mindThe understanding that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and knowledge, which may be different from yours.
sensorimotor stageThe first of Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, from birth to about two years, when babies learn about the world through their senses and movements.
cognitive developmentThe development of thinking skills such as attention, memory, problem-solving, reasoning and understanding how the world works.
empathyThe ability to understand and share how another person feels, for example noticing that a friend is sad and offering comfort.
