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The preoperational stage, the second of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, spans approximately ages 2 to 7 and is characterized by the emergence of symbolic thinking. During this stage, children use language, images, and symbols to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in imaginative and pretend play. This symbolic thinking supports children's ability to perform make-believe actions, such as imagining a broom as a horse or their hand as a phone, blending...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras

Published on: October 5, 2018

Young children's representations of spatial and functional relations between objects.

Kristin Shutts¹, Helena Ornkloo, Claes von Hofsten

¹Harvard University, USA. kshutts@wisc.edu

Child Development

|November 26, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Young children (15-30 months) improve object manipulation skills by learning to match object properties to spatial constraints. Difficulties in comparing shapes and 3D representation impact early object interaction accuracy.

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The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

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Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras

Published on: October 5, 2018

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science
Object Perception

Background:

Children's understanding of object properties and spatial relationships is crucial for interaction.
Early development involves mastering how objects fit into different spatial contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate developmental changes in children's ability to match object properties to spatial constraints between 15 and 30 months of age.
To identify factors contributing to difficulties in object manipulation tasks in early childhood.

Main Methods:

Three experiments were conducted with 114 children aged 15 to 30 months.
Children's performance was assessed in tasks involving object insertion into apertures, placement on surfaces, and fitting into forms.
Specific conditions compared object selection for apertures, placement on 2D forms, and atop 3D objects.

Main Results:

Older children (closer to 30 months) demonstrated significantly better selectivity in choosing objects of appropriate size and shape for apertures compared to younger children.
Younger children exhibited limited selectivity, suggesting difficulties in understanding spatial requirements.
Performance varied across tasks, with challenges noted in comparing positive/negative spaces and 3D shape representation.

Conclusions:

Developmental improvements in object manipulation from 15 to 30 months are linked to enhanced understanding of object-spatial relationships.
Difficulties in comparing shapes and representing objects in three dimensions contribute to errors in young children's object interaction.
Findings suggest that cognitive limitations in spatial representation, similar to those affecting adults, are present in early childhood object manipulation.