How to Think About Flowers A person’s stage of cognitive growth influences how he or she thinks about everything, including flowers. (a) At the preoperational stage, flowers fit into the egocentric scheme. Claire, a young girl from British Columbia, wants to touch, smell, and pick the flowers, not realizing how others might perceive such actions. (b) At the adult’s formal operational stage, flowers can be part of a larger, logical scheme—either to earn money or to cultivate beauty. Thinking is an active process from the beginning of life until the end.
EMILIE GLADSTONE
PHOTOTODISK/PUNCHSTOCK
PHOTOTODISK/PUNCHSTOCK