Santrock (2014) explains that according to Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, children are actively constructing their understanding of the world as they mature. Piaget argued that biology and experience are the catalysts for cognitive development, and that just as a child’s physical body changes and adapts to the world around them, so does their brain, which as a child grows and develops, builds mental structures that helps one to acclimate themselves to today’s society (Santrock, 2014). Piaget believed that cognitive development generally occurred in four developmental stages.
The developmental stage of interest, from 2-6 years, falls into Piaget’s “Preoperational Stage”. The preoperational stage is characterized by a child’s ability to represent the world with words, images and drawings. This phase is when children begin to engage in pretend or make-believe play (Santrock, 2014). This make-believe play is a key feature in studying schematic development in