Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Vocabulary flashcards covering the hallmarks, limitations, and stages of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, as well as common criticisms.

Sensorimotor stage

The first stage of cognitive development characterized by sensing and motoring, or sensing and physically reacting to the world.

Circular reactions

Repetitive behaviors in the sensorimotor stage named for their cyclical or repetitive nature.

Object permanence

The realization that an object is still there even when it cannot be seen; gaining this at around $2$ years old marks the end of the sensorimotor stage.

Pre-operational stage

The second stage of development where a child interacts with the world more fully but has significant cognitive limitations like egocentrism and an inability to understand conservation.

Egocentrism

A cognitive limitation in the pre-operational stage where a child centers on their own ego, caring only about their own wants and desires without considering others.

Perspective take

The ability to put oneself in the shoes of others and understand different perspectives, which children in the pre-operational stage are unable to do.

Conservation of mass

The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in container shape; children in the pre-operational stage fail this test when water is poured into a tall, skinny glass.

Understanding symbols

An ability gained in the pre-operational stage where children recognize that objects, like a stop sign, represent specific commands or concepts.

Concrete operational stage

The stage where a child discards egocentrism, understands the perspectives of others, understands conservation, and is capable of logical reasoning with physical objects.

Formal operational stage

The final stage marked by abstract reasoning and problem solving, such as predicting hypothetical outcomes in a story.

Piaget's Criticism

The theory is criticized for underestimating children by setting age limits too late; for example, many children understand conservation before the age of $7$.