Which of the following statements best describes the preoperational period in Piaget's theory?

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the preoperational period spans from approximately ages 2 to 7 and is primarily characterized by the dominance of egocentric thought. During this stage, children are unable to view situations from perspectives other than their own. This means they often struggle to understand that other people may have different thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints. This egocentrism affects how they interact with others and how they interpret the world around them.

While the preoperational child does engage in symbolic play and can use objects to represent something else, which aligns with option B, the hallmark of this stage is more closely tied to the limitations in their cognitive perspective, particularly egocentrism. This thought process leads to misunderstandings in social interactions and a lack of understanding of others' perspectives, making it a defining feature of this developmental period.

The other options, while related to different aspects of cognitive development, do not accurately capture the central characteristic of the preoperational stage. For instance, object permanence is primarily associated with the sensorimotor stage, logical reasoning emerges in the following concrete operational stage, and symbolic representation is a skill that, while important, does not encapsulate the overarching trait of egocentricity that defines