Are All Children Self-Centered??

The Term Ego-Centrist first becomes relevant in the Pre-Schematic stage for children which takes place between the ages of 4-7 years. At this point, children begin to draw themselves more and more in their artwork, but draw only what they can see of themselves. It's as if they're looking down to their feet and drawing what seems important to their body although they are well aware of all the body parts they have. Piaget also discovered that some children believe that the thinking process begins with the mouth because that is where the eating and talking and much more take place.

They add to the head; eyes, ears, a nose and mouth because those additions make the head the center of sensory activity. The next addition are the legs and arms to the being to make them a functional individual. Something else to add, while in this stage children tend to respond to questions and other things from a personal standpoint, like if asked a question about what happened at a sleepover or a friends house, they'll reply with what happened to them without any particular order.

A study was conducted by Piaget that consisted of 700 children. His results concluded with an average of children reaching the age of 11 before they move away from showing just their point of view in pictures. He went on to say that it's not that the children are being selfish in this stage, but they cannot fully "put him/herself in someone else's shoes" so to speak and thinks that everyone else sees what it is they see.

Why Is It Called the "Gang Age"??

"By the time children reach the age of 9 they are entering the stage of Drawing Realism, which lasts from 9 to 12 years" - Viktor Lowenfeld. The "Gang Age" is a very important stage for children because it is around this age when they begin to form their little groups of friends, often referred to as "gangs." At this point in a youngsters life they are more aware of themselves and tend to show this in their drawings. They also become more self-conscious of their role/place in society and add great detail in their artwork.

Toward the end of the stage they grow to be aware of proportion and depth and begin to display this in their art as well. Plus, unlike in previous stages of development, they are no longer eager to show adults their works and this is a result of their self-consciousness. During this stage it shows that the children have an increasing development of social independence. The gangs typically consist of same genders as a result of boys and girls ignoring each other through out the stint of this stage.