Chapter 15. Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Learning Objectives

concrete operational stage
stage in which, according to Piaget, the older child can think logically about concrete events and solve math problems using logical operations
formal operational stage
according to Piaget, the teenager can use abstract reasoning to consider the logical form of the problem rather than its concrete aspects
preoperational stage
stage in which, according to Piaget, the young child becomes capable of representing things with words and images, but can't yet use logical reasoning
sensorimotor stage
Piaget's initial stage in which infants experience the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing, and grasping)
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
true
true
true
Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development in children. Sensorimotor stage - from birth to 2 years. Preoperational stage - from 2 to 6 years. Concrete operational stage - from 6 to 12 years. Formal operational stage - from 12 years
Learning Objectives:

Name Piaget's four stages of cognitive development in children.

Describe the main characteristics of each of Piaget's four stages of cognitive development in children.

Review

concept_review

Review

Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.

0 to 2 years

A baby girl is smiling. She is between 0 and 2 years old
XiXinXing/Getty Images

1. Piaget proposed that children's reasoning develops in a series of four stages. He claimed that children think in different ways at each stage. In the sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2), children experience the world through their senses and actions.

Review

concept_review

Review

Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.

0 to 2 years

A baby girl is smiling. She is between 0 and 2 years old
XiXinXing/Getty Images

2 to 6 or 7 years

A young boy is playing with blocks. He is between 2 and 6 or 7 years old
amana images/Getty Images

2. In the preoperational stage (age 2 to about 6 or 7), children learn to use language and can represent things with words and images, but they are unable to reason logically.

Review

concept_review

Review

Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.

0 to 2 years

A baby girl is smiling. She is between 0 and 2 years old
XiXinXing/Getty Images

2 to 6 or 7 years

A young boy is playing with blocks. He is between 2 and 6 or 7 years old
amana images/Getty Images

7 to 11 years

An older boy is sitting at a desk in a classoom writing on a paper with a pencil. He is between 7 and 11 years old
iStock/Getty Images

3. In the concrete operational stage (about age 7 to 11), children can think logically about concrete objects and events, and they can perform arithmetic operations.

Review

concept_review

Review

Select the NEXT button to continue with the Review.

0 to 2 years

A baby girl is smiling. She is between 0 and 2 years old
XiXinXing/Getty Images

2 to 6 or 7 years

An older boy is sitting at a desk in a classoom writing on a paper with a pencil. He is between 7 and 11 years old
amana images/Getty Images

7 to 11 years

An older boy is sitting at a desk in a classoom writing on a paper with a pencil. He is between 7 and 11 years old
iStock/Getty Images

12+ years

A teenage girl is holding a model of a chemical compound. She is 12 years of age or older
E+/Getty Images

4. In the formal operational stage (age 12 through adulthood), teens gain the ability to think logically about abstract concepts.

Practice: Exploring Piaget’s Stages

hover_review
true

Practice: Exploring Piaget’s Stages

Roll over the photos to see what stage of cognitive development is linked with each age.

0 to 2 years

A smiling baby girl who is 0 to 2 years old
KidStock/Getty Images

2 to 6 or 7 years

a young boy playing with legos who is 2 to 6 or 7 years old
iStock/Getty Images

7 to 11 years

an older girl writing with a pencil who is 7 to 11 years old
iStock/Getty Images

From 12 years on

a teenage boy looking through a microscope who is 12 years old or older
iStock/Getty Images

Sensorimotor stage: experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing, and grasping)

Preoperational stage: representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning

Concrete operational stage: thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetic operations

Formal operational stage: using abstract reasoning to consider the logical form of the problem rather than its concrete aspects

Quiz 1

dnd_test

Quiz 1

Drag each stage label to the gray area under the appropriate photo. When all the labels have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.

A smiling baby girl who is 0 to 2 years old
KidStock/Getty Images
a young boy playing with legos who is 2 to 6 or 7 years old
iStock/Getty Images

an older girl writing with a pencil who is 7 to 11 years old
iStock/Getty Images
a teenage boy looking through a microscope who is 12 years old or older
iStock/Getty Images
Select the NEXT button and move to Quiz 2.
Perhaps you should go back to review Piaget's stages of cognitive development.
Preoperational
Formal operational
Sensorimotor
Concrete operational

Quiz 2

matching_test

Quiz 2

Match the stages with their descriptions by dragging each colored circle to the appropriate gray circle. When all the circles have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.

Select the NEXT button and move to the Conclusion.
Perhaps you should go back to review Piaget's stages of cognitive development.
sensorimotor stage
preoperational stage
concrete operational stage
formal operational stage
representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning
using abstract reasoning to consider the logical form of the problem rather than its concrete aspect
experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing, and grasping)
thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetic operations

Conclusion

end_slide
Congratulations!
You have completed the activity Title
Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development in children. Sensorimotor stage - from birth to 2 years. Preoperational stage - from 2 to 6 years. Concrete operational stage - from 6 to 12 years. Formal operational stage - from 12 years