Piaget Stages

Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development
The Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist,

suggests that children's intelligence undergoes changes as they grow. Cognitive
development in children is not only related to acquiring knowledge, children
need to build or develop a mental model of their surrounding world (Miller,
2011). His work is regarded as the cornerstone in the field of developmental
psychology.
 Sensorimotor stage: Birth to 2 years
 Preoperational stage: Ages 2 to 7
 Concrete operational stage: Ages 7 to 11
 Formal operational stage: Ages 12 and up
The Sensorimotor Stage

During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge
through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at the
earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses.
Birth to 2 Years
Major characteristics and developmental changes during this stage:
 Know the world through movements and sensations
 Learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and
listening
 Learn that things continue to exist even when they cannot be seen (object
permanence)
 Realize that they are separate beings from the people and objects around them
 Realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them
During the sensorimotor stage, children go through a period of dramatic growth and learning.
As kids interact with their environment, they continually make new discoveries about how
the world works.
The cognitive development that occurs during this period takes place over a relatively short
time and involves a great deal of growth. Children not only learn how to perform physical
actions such as crawling and walking; they also learn a great deal about language from the
people with whom they interact. Piaget also broke this stage down into substages. Early
representational thought emerges during the final part of the sensorimotor stage.
Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the

understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen,
was an important element at this point of development.
The Preoperational Stage

The foundations of language development may have been laid during the
previous stage, but the emergence of language is one of the major hallmarks of
the preoperational stage of development.3
2 to 7 Years
 Begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to
represent objects
 Tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of
others
 Getting better with language and thinking, but still tend to think in very
concrete terms
At this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and
taking the point of view of other people. They also often struggle with
understanding the idea of constancy.
Children become much more skilled at pretend play during this stage of
development, yet they continue to think very concretely about the world
around them.
For example, a researcher might take a lump of clay, divide it into two equal
pieces, and then give a child the choice between two pieces of clay to play
with. One piece of clay is rolled into a compact ball while the other is smashed
into a flat pancake shape. Because the flat shape looks larger, the
preoperational child will likely choose that piece, even though the two pieces
are exactly the same size.
The Concrete Operational Stage
While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in
development, they become much more adept at using logic.2 The egocentrism
of the previous stage begins to disappear as kids become better at thinking
about how other people might view a situation.
7 to 11 Years
 Begin to think logically about concrete events
 Begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of
liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for
example
 Thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
 Begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a
general principle
While thinking becomes much more logical during the concrete operational
state, it can also be very rigid. Kids at this point in development tend to
struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts.
During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think
about how other people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete operational
stage also begin to understand that their thoughts are unique to them and that
not everyone else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
The Formal Operational Stage
The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use
deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.3 At this point,
adolescents and young adults become capable of seeing multiple potential
solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around
them.
Age 12 and Up
Major characteristics and developmental changes during this time:
 Begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems
 Begins to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and
political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning
 Begins to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to
specific information
The ability to thinking about abstract ideas and situations is the key hallmark of
the formal operational stage of cognitive development. The ability to
systematically plan for the future and reason about hypothetical situations are
also critical abilities that emerge during this stage.
REFERENCE:
 Papalia, D. E., & Feldman, R. D. (2011). A child’s world:
Infancy through adolescence (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Baillargeon, R., & DeVos, J. (1991). Object permanence
in young infants: Further evidence. Child development,
1227-1246.

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Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

The Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist,

The Sensorimotor Stage

Major characteristics and developmental changes during this stage:

 Know the world through movements and sensations

Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the

The Preoperational Stage

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