Definition
For young children to engage in making up or imagination by acting as if things are real when they are not real. Symbolic thinking is a cognitive stage of development in young preschool age children.
Description
Symbolic thought is common for children to engage in through the process of pretend or make believe. Young children express symbolic thoughts by reenacting actions of parents or care givers by using various objects that represent what they pretend them to be. An example is children playing in the dirt to make food. The children imagine themselves to be other people or animals also using drawing, writing, singing and talking [1].
Relevance to Childhood Development
Caregivers and parents can help in their children’s development by understanding mirroring plays an important role in the development of symbolic thought. Language develops by symbolic functions. The child is able to imagine behaviors of...
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Nicolopoulou, A. (1993). Play, cognitive development, and the social world: Piaget, Vygotsky, and beyond. Human Development, 36, 1–23.
Rhodes, R. L., Ochoa, S. H., & Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide. New York: Guilford.
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Vanderlaan, A.F. (2011). Symbolic Thought. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2852
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2852
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77579-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79061-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science