Piaget then returned the child to their seat and showed them several drawings – each representing a different view of the mountains. He then a asked the children to tell him which drawing was most like what they were seeing from their position. They correctly chose the drawing that matched the view from their own position. But when he asked them to choose which drawing represented what the doll might see from where the doll sat, the younger children insisted the doll’s view was the same view as their own. Piaget called this “egocentrism.”

Is this our problem in America with regard to huge issues like race? Are we so focused on our own perspectives that we can’t imagine someone’s reality that might be different than our own – even from the other side of the mountains? People indignant in their passionate belief of only one view of the mountains is a problem. These are not small children whose cognitive perspective has yet to grow. These are adults who vote.

(Image courtesy McGraw-Hill)