Sensorimotor stage: The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages in Piaget’s
Theory of cognitive development. It extends from birth to approximately 2 years and is a period
of rapid cognitive growth.
Who was this Piaget guy, and why does he matter?
Jean Piaget was one of the earliest voices in the field of child psychology. He’s most known for
his ideas that help explain how children develop intellectually. This cognitive theory involves
four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
Developmental Milestones
1. Object Permanence
● What It Means: The realization that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.
Significance:
● When It Happens: This understanding typically begins to emerge around 4 to 7
months of age. By 8 months, many babies begin to show clearer signs of this
realization, though a complete understanding usually solidifies by 18-24 months.
● Why It’s Important: It’s the starting point for memory skills and realizing that things
around them are constant.
● Signs to Watch For: Your baby enjoys games like peek-a-boo and will look for toys
you’ve hidden, showing they know it’s still there.
2. Cause and Effect
● What It Means: Recognizing that certain actions produce specific results.
● When It Happens: Babies start showing initial signs of grasping cause and effect
between 4 to 8 months. For example, they might realize that if they shake a rattle, it
will make noise. This understanding deepens and becomes more sophisticated
throughout the sensorimotor stage and beyond.
● Why It’s Important: This helps your baby start thinking logically and understand how
things work.
● Signs to Watch For: You might see your baby dropping toys from their high chair
repeatedly, not just for fun, but also to see what happens and to get your attention.
3. The Start of Pretend Play
● What It Means: Using one object to stand in for another (like pretending a banana is a
phone), showcases the onset of imaginative play.
● When It Happens: Pretend or symbolic play usually begins around 18 months but
becomes more pronounced and complex by the age of 2 years. This is when children
start using objects to represent something else, like pretending a banana is a phone or a
box is a car.
● Why It’s Important: This imaginative play shows they’re starting to think in creative
ways and is a foundation for language skills.
● Signs to Watch For: Watch for moments when your child uses one object to represent
another, like using a bowl as a hat or a box as a car.
Sub-Stages: Development & Examples
The sensorimotor stage of development can be broken down into six additional sub-stages
including simple reflexes, primary circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, coordination
of reactions, tertiary circular reactions, and early symbolic thought.
1. Reflex Acts
The first substage (first month of life) is the stage of reflex acts. The neonate responds to external
stimulation with innate reflex actions.
During this period, the infant, or neonate, primarily interacts with the world through inborn
reflexes rather than deliberate behaviors.
For Example the rooting reflex: when a baby’s cheek or mouth is gently touched, the infant will
reflexively turn their head toward the source and begin to suck. This reflex aids in breastfeeding
and showcases the neonate’s innate response mechanisms during this early stage of development.
2. Primary Circular Reactions
Primary Circular Reactions refer to a developmental phase in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage,
specifically between 1 to 4 months of age. The baby will repeat pleasurable actions centered on
its own body.
In this phase, infants begin to coordinate sensations and two types of schema (habit and circular
reactions). The term “circular” denotes the repeated nature of an action that a baby finds
pleasurable or interesting.
The actions in primary circular reactions are centered on the baby’s own body, rather than the
external environment.
For Example, a baby might accidentally suck their thumb and find it pleasurable, leading them
to engage in thumb-sucking repeatedly.
These actions are “primary” because they originate from the baby’s own body movements and
are not yet focused on the outside world.
These are not reflex actions. They are done intentionally – for the sake of the pleasurable
stimulation produced.
3. Secondary Circular Reactions
Secondary circular reactions refer to a phase in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage, typically evident
between 4 to 8 months of age.
In this phase, infants become more focused on the external world and begin to repeat actions that
produce enjoyable or interesting results in their environment.
Unlike Primary Circular Reactions, which are centered on the infant’s own body, secondary
circular reactions involve the repetition of actions that involve external objects.
For example, a baby might accidentally shake a rattle and, finding the sound interesting,
deliberately shake it again to reproduce the sound.
This phase represents the child’s growing awareness and interaction with the environment, as
they begin to understand cause-and-effect relationships with objects around them.
4. Coordinating Secondary Schemes
Coordinating secondary schemes is a phase in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage, typically occurring
between 8 to 12 months of age.
In this stage, infants begin to combine and coordinate separate actions into more complex
sequences, marking the start of intentional and goal-directed behavior.
Rather than just repeating individual actions involving external objects (as seen in secondary
circular reactions), in this phase, children show the ability to carry out actions with a specific
goal in mind.
For instance, a baby might push one toy out of the way to reach another toy behind it,
demonstrating an understanding of spatial relationships and object permanence.
For example, the infant will not just shake the rattle but will reach out and knock to one side an
object that stands in the way of it getting hold of the rattle.
It’s a pivotal stage as children start to combine previously learned behaviors, anticipate
outcomes, and purposefully engage with their environment to achieve desired results.
5. Tertiary Circular Reactions
Fifth comes the substage of tertiary circular reactions. During this substage, infants engage in
experimental interactions with their environment through trial-and-error behaviors.
Unlike previous secondary circular reactions, where actions were often repetitive, in tertiary
circular reactions, children purposefully modify their actions to see the outcomes, showing a
form of early problem-solving.
An example might be a child dropping a toy at different angles or with different forces to see
how it reacts.
6. Symbolic Thought
This is transitional to the pre-operational stage of cognitive development. Babies can now form
mental representations of objects.
Symbolic thought emerges in the latter part of the sensorimotor stage, around 18-24 months. It
signifies a child’s ability to form mental representations of objects or events that aren’t currently
present.
This development enables activities like pretend play and the use of symbols, indicating an
understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight, a concept known as object
permanence.
Symbolic thought marks a cognitive leap, setting the foundation for later stages of conceptual
and abstract thinking.
Activities to try with your baby during this stage
Playtime helps you bond with your child while also supporting healthy cognitive growth. Many
different play activities can help maximize development during the sensorimotor stage.
Here are some simple activities you can try with your child:
Object permanence play
Playing peekaboo or hide-and-seek games can help your child develop their understanding of
object permanence through games. This can also help them learn cause and effect.
For younger babies, take a small blanket or cloth and hold it over your face. If your baby is old
enough to grasp and pull, show them how they can pull the scarf away to reveal your face.
Then try covering the baby's face. Clapping and cheering when they pull the blanket away can
help encourage their excitement about the activity. You can repeat this game with a favorite book
or toy.
With a toddler, you can play a more full-body version of hide-and-seek. Hide behind a door or
somewhere else they can find you easily. Call, “Where am I?” and cheer and clap when they find
you. Then encourage them to hide.
Tactile play
Letting your child play with substances they can manipulate helps them learn about different
sensations and develop their motor skills and creativity.
Safe, fun substances include play dough, finger paint, water, or foam balls. Make sure to
supervise your child during these activities.
● Try giving your toddler a large empty bowl, a small cup, and a smaller bowl filled with
water. Encourage them to pour the water from one bowl to the other. (You may want to
do this in the bathtub.)
● Give your child different colors of play dough. Demonstrate how they can make balls and
flatten them, or roll smaller balls into larger ones.
● Show your child how to mix colors and use finger paint on paper. Teach them how they
can make fingerprints or handprints. (And don’t forget to frame one of their creations or
display them on the refrigerator!)
● Teaching your child how balls bounce and roll can help improve motor coordination and
fine motor skills. Try balls of different shapes and colors, or balls with bells or other
noisemakers inside. Encourage them to catch the balls and roll them back to you.
Parenting tips for the sensorimotor stage
During this stage, spending time interacting with your child is key. Holding, feeding, and bathing
your child are all essential activities that promote bonding and development — but you can also
take other steps to help maximize your child’s cognitive growth.
Talk to your child frequently
Even before they can answer, speaking to your child helps them develop language abilities and
increase their vocabulary. You can talk to your child about everyday things, read to them, sing to
them, and describe what’s happening during play and daily activities.
Provide environmental stimulation
During the sensorimotor stage, babies learn by using their senses to explore their environments.
Providing a range of activities that involve the five senses helps them develop their sensory
abilities as they move through the substages. Offer your child:
● toys with different textures and fabrics (paper, bubble wrap, fabric)
● toys or activities that make sounds (bells, play pots and pans, whistles)
● soft or board books with flaps or pop-ups
● toys in different shapes, colors, and sizes
● activities that encourage movement (stretching, reaching, crawling, grasping)
Provide supervision
Some activities are perfectly safe to let your child explore on their own. You’ll want to stay
nearby, but you may not need to monitor every second of play.
For example, if you want half an hour to fold laundry at the kitchen table, you might open the
kitchen cabinet where you store the pots and pans and let them bang away with a wooden spoon.
(But make sure the situation is safe and they can’t get a finger or toe smashed by a heavy cast
iron pot.)
Different activities may need more supervision. Play dough, for example, can quickly end up in a
child’s mouth.
Babies in particular are very likely to put objects in their mouths, so you’ll want to make sure
their toys are clean and safe for licking or mouthing.
And if your child keeps putting something in their mouth that isn’t safe, put it out of sight and
firmly but gently redirect them to one that is. This can help them learn that only some toys are
safe to put in their mouth without discouraging them from continuing to experiment with
sensations.
During this stage, your child will learn:
● to repeat behaviors they enjoy
● to explore their environment and interact with objects intentionally
● to coordinate actions to achieve a specific goal
● what happens when they repeat the same activity (cause and effect)
● that objects still exist if they can’t be seen (object permanence)
● to problem-solve, pretend, repeat, and imitate
Above all, your child will spend this stage learning to understand their world through
experiences. Once children have the capability for representational, or symbolic, thinking —
which generally occurs around the age of 2 — they have progressed into Piaget’s next stage, the
preoperational stage.
References:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/sensorimotor.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/sensorimotor-stage#takeaway
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/piaget-and-the-senso
rimotor-stage/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/piagets-sensorimotor-stage-of-development-definition-ex
amples-quiz.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325030