A Psychological Approach To Egocentrism: Why Preschoolers Are Poor At Hiding?

Young children have a world of their own and wildest imaginations. They have a distinct way thinking that adults sometimes found incomprehensible. They have their own ways to play, it is especially interesting to see children supposedly make themselves disappear by only covering their face.

According to Our Everyday Life, Jean Piaget, a known child development researcher concluded that toddlers believe that people perceive things the same as they do. Piaget explained that this behavior is quite normal considering their age and it seems evident that they want others to act like them and like what they like.

Psychologists have been studying these patterns for many years and deduced that egocentrism is a distinctive feature of pre-schoolers, as per The Conversation. Their perception of the world includes only their own point of view and to them, people only see things the way they do. This is a very linear way of thinking that preschoolers usually have.

In recent studies conducted by neurological experts and psychologists, however, this conceptualization has been challenged. In experiments with children between the ages of two and four, it was revealed that eye contact is the key element in their perceptions. They tend to think that they can only see, hear and listen to other people when they are watching them.

This way of thinking is a proof that preschoolers feel invisible when no one is watching them. Instead of egocentrism, children cognition is based more on mutually identifying each other. Another interesting aspect of preschoolers cognition is the importance of mutual interaction.

The eye contact compulsion shows that in young children's perception, sense of attachment with others is basic and the most important criteria. It is due to this belief that children hide themselves by covering their eyes because when people cannot see them, there is no interaction between them.