Piaget’s Sensorimotor
Stage
S
Background
*Born on august 9, 1896 in a small university
town in Switzerland.
*Showed an early interest in nature and was
published in a natural history magazine for an
observation describing an albino sparrow
when he was just 10 years old.
*He studied biology and epistemology
(branch of philosophy focused on study of
knowledge) when he was young
Background
*Completed his undergrad with studies of natural
sciences and two years later received the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.
*Moved to Paris where he worked at a boys institution
standardizing an intelligence test and studied the mind
*Married in 1923 and had 3 children
*Published more than forty full-length books and more
than a hundred articles in the field of child psychology
*Died on September 16, 1980
The Sensorimotor Stage
Piaget divides intellectual development into 4 Stages
* Sensorimotor
* Pre-operational
* Concrete operational
* Formal operational
The 6 Substages
Stage 1- The Use of Reflexes (birth to 1 month)
The formation of schema are made through
natural, inborn reflexes (e.g. sucking reflex)
Stage 2- Primary Circular Reactions (1 to 4 months)
The child accidentally encounters a new
experience and tries to repeat it.
(e.g. sucking the thumb)
The 6 Substages
Stage 3- Secondary Circular Reactions (4 to 8 months)
The discovery of and reproduction of
an event external to the child. (e.g. repeatedly
moving an external object)
Stage 4- Coordination of Secondary Schemes (8 to 12 mo)
The coordination of different schemes to get a
desired result (e.g. striking to get a box)
The 6 Substages
Stage 5- Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months)
Performing different actions to observe various
outcomes. (e.g. hand at different angles under a
faucet)
Stage 6- The Beginnings of Thought (18 mo. to 2 years)
Thinking before acting. (e.g. planning how to open
a box to acquire its contents)
Hypothesis
We hypothesize that our child will follow the
succession of schema presented as normal to each
stage, based upon her age. She is 15 months old,
therefore we believe she will have acquired the
schema normal to stage 5.
Experiment
The experiment consisted
of performing tests and
observing the child’s
reactions to determine if
she had acquired various
schema to prove she had
reached the stage
appropriate for her age.
Stage 1- Reflexes
Piaget’s Norm
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Child performs
rooting reflex
Our Result
Child does not
perform reflex
Determination
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2- Primary Circular
Reactions
The child shows that she
has the schema normal to the
second stage by repeatedly
playing with her own ears.
Piaget’s Norm
Our Result
Determination
Stage 1
Child performs
rooting reflex
Child does not
perform reflex
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2
Performs egocentric
Circular reactions
Repeatedly plays
with ears
Child has progressed
from stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 3- Secondary
Circular Reactions
The child is capable of
moving the cups for no other
reason than the pleasure of
doing so.
Piaget’s Norm
Our Result
Determination
Stage 1
Child performs
rooting reflex
Child does not
perform reflex
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2
Performs egocentric
Circular reactions
Repeatedly plays
with ears
Child has progressed
from stage 2
Stage 3
Performs external
circular reactions
Plays with cups for
pleasure
Child has progressed
from stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 4- Coordination of
Secondary Schemes
The child displays that
she has achieved object
permanence and actively seeks
out the toy when it is hidden.
She will move the blanket to
acquire to pick up the stuffed
bear.
Experiment
Piaget’s Norm
Our Result
Determination
Stage 1
Child performs
rooting reflex
Child does not
perform reflex
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2
Performs egocentric
Circular reactions
Repeatedly plays
with ears
Child has progressed
from stage 2
Stage 3
Performs external
circular reactions
Plays with cups for
pleasure
Child has progressed
from stage 3
Stage 4
Child displays object Child demonstrates
permanence
object permanence
Stage 5
Stage 6
Child displays
norms of stage 4
Experiment
Stage 5- Tertiary Circular
Reactions
The child experiments
with different tones and
volumes while making
vocalizations.
Piaget’s Norm
Our Result
Determination
Stage 1
Child performs
rooting reflex
Child does not
perform reflex
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2
Performs egocentric
Circular reactions
Repeatedly plays
with ears
Child has progressed
from stage 2
Stage 3
Performs external
circular reactions
Plays with cups for
pleasure
Child has progressed
from stage 3
Stage 4
Child displays object Child demonstrates
permanence
object permanence
Child displays
norms of stage 4
Stage 5
Child performs trialand-error actions
Child displays
norms of stage 5
Stage 6
Child speaks loudly
and softly
Experiment
Stage 6- The Beginnings
of Thought
The child is capable of
deferred imitation in that she
can imitate an action of
another, but lacks the proper
methods of expressing the
action.
Piaget’s Norm
Our Result
Determination
Stage 1
Child performs
rooting reflex
Child does not
perform reflex
Child has progressed
from stage 1
Stage 2
Performs egocentric
Circular reactions
Repeatedly plays
with ears
Child has progressed
from stage 2
Stage 3
Performs external
circular reactions
Plays with cups for
pleasure
Child has progressed
from stage 3
Stage 4
Child displays object Child demonstrates
permanence
object permanence
Child displays
norms of stage 4
Stage 5
Child performs trialand-error actions
Child displays
norms of stage 5
Stage 6
Shows the beginning Displays symbolism
of thought
Child speaks loudly
and softly
Displays beginnings
of stage 6
Conclusion
The child we observed has exceeded the norms
appropriate for stage 5. She demonstrates schema
indicating a transition into stage six. Given that Piaget
placed the beginnings of thought at roughly 18 months
of age, the child has reached stage 6 about three months
ahead of what he considered normal.
Challenges
• Inability to acquire some footage, even over
multiple visits.
• Time restraints (limited number of visits)
• Interpretation of observations
• Inclement weather
Bibliography
Crain, W. (2011) Theories of Development (Concepts and Applications). New Jersey. Prentice Hall
Ginsburg H.P. (1988) Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development. New Jersey. Prentice Hall
Phillips J. L. (1969) Orgins of Intellect: Piaget’s Theory. San Francisco. W. H. Freeman and Co.
Piaget. J, Inhelder B. (1969) The Psychology of the Child. New York. Basic Books Inc.
Wadsworth B. (1989) Piaget’s Thory of Cognitive and Affective Development. New York. Longman Inc.