the first, or prelogical, stage of thinking in a child’s life, characterized by egocentric and frequently animistic thought processes. For example, a simple block may be called a car, or a broomstick may be ridden as a horse. At this stage, connections are likely to be purely accidental: If the sun shines brightly on the child’s birthday, for example, the child may think that the birthday is the reason for the sun to shine. See animism. [proposed by Jean Piaget]