Human Growth and Development / Unit 5 HGD 0625 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Egocentrism and the Three Mountains
Captions available
The idea
Egocentrism is difficulty separating one's own perspective from others'; in Piaget's three-mountains task, children pick the view a doll would see.
In practice
A four-year-old choosing her own view as the doll's; a seven-year-old choosing the doll's.
Where people slip
Moving beyond one's own viewpoint is called decentering. Later research finds perspective-taking earlier than Piaget believed.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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