Donny’s mother has just poured two glasses of orange juice, one for Donny and one for his sister. After they are poured, Donny b
ecomes very upset that he got less juice than his sister. Their mother points out that while Donny’s glass is short, it is also wider, and thus both children have the same amount. Donny continues to protest, arguing that his juice is shorter, thus he has less juice. Piaget would explain Donny’s behavior as being the result of:
According to Piaget, Donny would be in the preoperational stage, which ranges from two to seven years of age. Children of this age are self-centered because <em>they often believe that people see the world as they do</em>. At this stage the children focus only on one aspect of the objects. That's why Donny pays attention only to the height of the glass without considering its width. For this reason, he considers that his mother served him less juice by having a shorter glass.
<u>The preoperational stage is also characterized in that the infant thinks that inanimate objects have the same sensory capacity as a human</u>, such as seeing, feeling or hearing.
<span>The U.S. wanted to avoid going around South America and insure less time for U.S. Naval ships to travel and protect U.S. possessions around the world.</span>
