What is centration?

Centration is a term used in psychology, particularly in Piagetian theory, to describe the tendency of young children to focus only on one aspect of an object or situation at a time. This often leads to errors in understanding and reasoning, as the child fails to consider all relevant information.

For example, a child who is presented with two identical glasses of water may focus only on the height of the water in each glass, ignoring the width or volume of the liquid. This narrow focus can limit their ability to accurately compare the two glasses.

Centration is considered a key characteristic of the preoperational stage of cognitive development, which typically occurs in children between the ages of 2 and 7 years old. As children progress through Piaget's stages of cognitive development, they gradually learn to overcome centration and consider multiple aspects of objects and situations simultaneously.