Which statement indicates understanding of Piaget's animism in a 5-year-old?

Which statement indicates understanding of Piaget's animism in a 5-year-old?

• A. This is an example of egocentrism
• B. This is an example of centration
• C. This is an example of animism
• D. This is an example of conservation

Answer: (C)

Animism is when a child treats inanimate objects as if they have life, feelings, or intentions. At about five years old, in Piaget’s preoperational stage, children commonly attribute emotions to things that aren’t alive, like saying a toy is sad if it’s left alone or that the sun is following them because it is alive. The correct statement is the one that shows the child assigning life or feelings to a non-living object, which directly demonstrates this kind of thinking. The other ideas describe different preoperational limits or later developments: egocentrism refers to not taking another’s perspective, centration is focusing on one aspect of a problem, and conservation is understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance.

Animism is when a child treats inanimate objects as if they have life, feelings, or intentions. At about five years old, in Piaget’s preoperational stage, children commonly attribute emotions to things that aren’t alive, like saying a toy is sad if it’s left alone or that the sun is following them because it is alive. The correct statement is the one that shows the child assigning life or feelings to a non-living object, which directly demonstrates this kind of thinking. The other ideas describe different preoperational limits or later developments: egocentrism refers to not taking another’s perspective, centration is focusing on one aspect of a problem, and conservation is understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance.