Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
 Six
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
sub-stages
Simple Reflexes
First Habits and Primary Circular
Reactions
Secondary Circular Reactions
Coordination of Sec. Circ. Reactions
Tertiary Circular Reactions
Beginning of Thought
This sub-stage of the sensorimotor
stage happens within the first
month of a newborn’s life. The
physical and cognitive life of the
baby is it’s inborn reflexes, these
reflexes help the baby interact
with the world. The sucking reflex
allows the baby to suck on
anything placed near his lips.
The second sub-stage is
between the ages of one to
four months. During this time,
babies coordinate separate
actions into single activities.
While a baby is holding an
object he may start to suck on
it or focus his attention on one
object while holding a toy.
During this sub-stage the baby is
between the ages of four and
eight months old. The baby
now starts to act and react to
the outside world. This is
demonstrated when a baby
picks up her rattle and shakes
it to listen to the noise it
makes.
This sub-stage begins at 8 months
and lasts until the baby is a year
old. During this time a baby begins
to develop goal- directed behavior,
where several activities are
combined to solve a problem. EX:
if a baby is playing with a rattle
and the mother takes it away the
baby would begin looking for it.
This sub-stage runs from one year to
18 months of age. During this time
the child carries out small
experiments to observe results. An
example is when a baby drops his toy
– he then drops it repeatedly to see
how it falls/lands. Once he observes
different results he will continue to
drop it to see what happens next.
This sub-stage is between the ages
of 18 months and 2 years old. At
this time a child forms mental and
symbolic thought. This means that
a child starts to remember past
events and objects. If a child is
playing with a toy and it rolls
under the bed they can now
predict the toy will emerge on the
other side.
This stage begins around the time a
child begins to talk and ends
around age 7. During this time the
child learns to substitute objects
with symbols. The child is able to
think about things such as events
that aren’t happening in the
present. The child also starts to
think outside their world and play
“pretend.”
The child begins to think abstractly
and to make rational judgments.
The child will now begin to ask and
answer questions, which allows her
to mentally manipulate information.
This is the final stage of development
in Piaget’s theory. During this stage
the person no longer needs concrete
objects to make rational decisions.
A person is able to consider many
possibilities from all kinds of
perspectives.