Piaget noted that preschool children spent a great deal of time talking to themselves, even when playing together, and that the 'conversations' had nothing to do with the speech of the children around them. He called this process

• A. the language acquisition device.
• B. collective monologue.
• C. pragmatics.
• D. the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the context: The problem is about a concept observed by Piaget related to how preschool children communicate.
2. Identify the key observation: Piaget noted that preschool children often talk to themselves, even in group settings, and these conversations are not directly related to the speech of others around them.
3. Recognize the term: Piaget referred to this phenomenon as 'collective monologue,' where children are engaged in parallel monologues rather than interactive dialogue.
4. Differentiate from other terms: 'Language acquisition device' is a concept by Noam Chomsky, 'pragmatics' refers to the use of language in social contexts, and 'linguistic relativity hypothesis' suggests that language influences thought.
5. Conclude with the correct term: Based on Piaget's observation, the correct term for this behavior is 'collective monologue.'