Sensorimotor and Pre-Operational Stages of Cognitive Development

During this stage, infants use their hands, mouth, ears, and eyes to solve problems. For example, when an infant may play with a Jack-in-the-box, the infant will be able to hear, see, and feel the crank as he is winding it up. As the infant continues to wind the “box” Jack will then pop out; solving the problem. Secondly, there is the preoperational stage which ranges from two-years of age to seven years old. The preoperational stage deals with language development and the make-believing play, by using symbols learned in the first stage of sensorimotor. Additionally, the concrete operational stage ranges from seven years to eleven-years-old. While in the concrete operational stage there is more logical reasoning to actions such as determining how much of their favorite beverage may remain. Not to mention, during this stage the child also begins to have a sense of organization with objects. For instance, a young boy that arranges his toys in order from most favorite to least would also be an example of the concrete operational stage. Lastly, the final stage in Piaget’s theory is formal operational from eleven years of age and beyond. In the formal operational stage, adolescents can solve more abstract

During stage three, or the concrete operational stage, children can now reason logically about concrete events and classify objects into different sets. This stage consists of children who are older in age. These children are between the ages of seven and eleven. Concrete operational thinkers though cannot image the steps needed to complete a math equation. This is because it would require a level of thinking that is too nonconcrete for this stage of development. An example of this stage uses the same experiment in stage two with the liquids, which I believe is easy to understand because it is already been experimented with just at a

     One piece of evidence is the child's apparent belief that objects exist when not perceived. This is called belief in Object Permanence. If a cloth is placed over a toy for which an eight-month old child is reaching, the child will immediately lose interest in the toy, as if the toy had ceased to exist. This is just what it has done for the child; as soon as anything passes from its experience that thing is no more. However, only a couple of months later, the same child in a similar situation will actively search for an object that has been hidden from its view. The older child has the concept of Object Permanence; it believes that there is an object under the cloth even though it cannot see it, feel it, hear it, taste it or smell it, and will make an effort to reach it if it so desires.

​At first, understanding of an event for a child is indistinct. They only get perceptual image of different actions as they occur. As the child experiences an event frequently, the child efficiently develops a mental representation of that event. The child will be able to

The child now has some verbal language and an emergency of deferred imitation, where the child may repeat an action done by you or another child and store the information for a later time. For example, say the child was watching another child using the cups. The other child picked up a stacking cup, turning it upside down, pouring something into it, and began drinking out of the cup. Another example is, the other child were using the cup, as if they were phones. If that child saw what action was being done and liked it, that child would later repeat what you did and use them as phones

The last substage lasts from 18 to 24 months and this is where the external exploration is replaced by mental exploration (Rathus, S., & Longmuir, S., 2011, p.83). Ojose studied Piaget’s theory and concluded in this stage that object permanence is shown, which is when the child can find objects after the objects are placed in an unknown spot, they can still find the objects even though they are unable to see them (Ojose, 2008, p. 26). External stimuli increase the infant’s cognitive development because you are introduced to different objects and noises around you. When that happens, you observe what is happening around you and you can connect with things. External stimuli also triggers your motor skills. Over all, sensorimotor focuses on knowing where objects are and discovering your world, and that is what external stimuli helps the infant do.

The third stage, Secondary Circular Reaction, occurs during the fourth month through the eighth month. Secondary circular reactions involve the development of constructive coordination to reproduce events outside of the body. This differs from stage two where the focus of action was with the infant’s own body. An example of this includes when a baby is laid on an activity mat and kicks their legs to rattle a toy on the mat which may cause the baby to smile or laugh at the sight or sound of the rattling toy. According to Crain (2011), Piaget sometimes referred to secondary circular reactions as “making interesting sights last” (p. 123). During this stage, infants learn psychologically to connect their physical movements to produce pleasing

The third stage, is the Concrete operational, this is when children begin to think logically about things. Some children remain at this stage throughout their school years and also throughout life.

This is where an infant uses a combination of actions to solve simple problems and/or achieve simple goals. Throughout this period infants commonly make the ‘A-not-B error’. This error means infants will almost always search for an object in the place they last found it (place A), rather than in a new place (place B). Zara made this error in her game of ‘hide-and-seek’. when Zara is looking for her toy rabbit, she reaches for the cushion her pacifier was last under, showing exactly how the ‘A-not-B error’ occurs in infants. As Zara grows out of the substage she is currently in, by around 18months old, she will have full capability regarding object permanence. This means she will no longer make errors such as the ‘A-not-B’, and instead will fully grasp invisible displacements. Zara will be able to mentally signify when an invisible action is occurring, such as her toy rabbit being hidden, and comprehend the location of the object whether it is visible or

- A also from the eight months , children begin to develop the ability to solve

During this stage children will mimic words and learn many vocabulary words in order to form their own thoughts. Children may also try out some words that may not be appropriate because they have heard someone else say them. This stage involves the child starting to think logically and beginning to form their own opinions about certain subjects. They want to choose for themselves whether they wear a certain outfit or if they want to go somewhere. They begin to express their feelings about certain subjects and whether they think something is fair or not. Penelope falls into this category. At this age she would be able to function well enough to help pour the ingredients into the bowl and start to mix things with her

They develop a sense of understanding that objects outside themselves still exist even when they are not in reach of them. Say you have a piece of candy in your right hand and you hide the piece of candy behind your back while your little sister is watching. Now watch as she progresses to find the missing candy. If she is continuing to find the missing candy that is an example of “object permanence” which occurs in the sensorimotor stage. At the preoperational stage (ages 2 through 7), the ability to use and interpret words and symbols. Around the age 2 children are not able to identify an object by its name. Towards the end of this stage children are able to say the name of the object, draw a picture of the object, point to the object, and understand what it all means. Concrete operational stage (ages 7 through 12) can think logically about some objects and events. For example, you place two large pizzas side by side each other. One pizza has 8 slices and the other one has 12 slices. One appears to have more pizza than the other one, but they are both still two large

Jean Piaget’s theory focused on cognitive development as mental operations mature based on “simple sensory and motor activity to logical, abstract thought” (Papalia, et al., 2006). Piaget’s view was that growth occurs as a child matures and interacts with his or her surroundings; he looks at the human mind as a focal point and base for everything around it (Heffner, 2004). Cognitive development occurs in three interrelated processes, according to Piaget. The interrelated processes are organization, adaptation, and

Love, support, and care are essential to a child brain to develop efficiently, a parent or giver must provide constant interaction and attention. Cognitive development involves the way infants think, perceive things, solve problems, and begin to understand the world around them. Imitation is a perfect combination of both cognitive and socio-emotional development; this is a way infants learn. As caregivers interact with their infant and begin to express emotions, the infant will copy what they see their caregiver do. Interaction like this plays a role in your infant’s brain development. The sensorimotor stage incorporates senses (sight, hearing, tasting, and feeling) with physical actions. An infant becomes interested in bright colors, or movement, and begins to respond to an action such as a smiling caregiver. This concept is similar to joint-attention, when a caregiver points to an object, and the infant becomes aware of it. While, these concepts are based on cognitive development, socio-emotional development also plays an important role. Object permanence is a mixture of both cognitive and physical development. We know object permanence to be when an infant understands that an object exists even though the object is not in sight. This concept is in close relation with physical development, because object permanence involves the senses, which play a large role in physical

The infant will by accident engage in some form of behavior and if the child finds it enjoyable the child will repeat it. An example is an infant sucking their thumb. It may not have been intentional the first time, but they may repeat the action because it comforted them. At this stage the child learns how to help console themselves. These types of reactions are called primary circular reactions. This stage is about coordinating feelings and new patterns.