Reading chapter 9 reminded me of my younger sister, particularly the section on theory of mind and the “sudden leap in understanding” happening around age 4 (Berger, 2008, 238). My sister is 15 now, and it is a running joke in my family that everything important in her life happened when she was 4. There were some big life experiences that happened when she was 4, like getting her first, and most-loved pet, a cat named Nippy, but there were also funny things that we joke about, like her getting married to the same preschool classmate twice. She remembers her first dreams, her first birthday party, and how one of her friends threw scissors at her head. When I read the section about the leap of understanding at age 4, it immediately reminded me of her memories. It made me realize that there is probably a reason it seems like so much happened at that stage of her life. For example, she was developing a theory of mind. She was able to recognize how her new kitten might feel, enough so that she cuddled with her instead of pulling her tail. Although the cat is not human, this still shows that my sister could see others' points of view. Despite developing a theory of mind, my sister's memories still show a definite egocentric point of view. All her memories are things focused on her experiences. Her memories of when she was 4 give proof to Piaget's preoperational theory as well as demonstrating other developmental milestones.
Berger, K. S. (2008). The Developing Person Through the Lifespan. New York: Worth Publishers.
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