Four-year-old Aparna says that a button is alive because it helps tie her shirt together. According to Jean Piaget, her thinking is characterized by :

The correct answer is Animistic thinking.

Explanation:

According to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children in the preoperational stage (approximately 2 to 7 years old) demonstrate key characteristic features in their thinking.

Animistic thinking (or animism) is the belief that inanimate objects (such as toys, buttons, clouds, or the sun) possess lifelike qualities, feelings, intentions, and consciousness. In this scenario, four-year-old Aparna believes the button is alive because it performs a functional action ("helping tie her shirt together"). Attributing life or intent to an inanimate object is a classic example of animism.

Understanding the other options:

• Transductive reasoning: Thinking that links two specific events together causally without logical reasoning (e.g., believing it got dark because it's time to sleep).
• Centration: The tendency to focus on only one feature of an object or situation while ignoring other important features.
• Hypothetical-deductive thinking: The ability to develop hypotheses and systematically test them, which develops later during the formal operational stage (adolescence).