Piaget's stages of cognitive development
The short answer
Piaget described four stages of how children think: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.[1][2][3] Exam questions usually describe a behavior, like believing a tall glass holds more water, and ask which stage it shows.[1][4]
Study note: Age ranges for each stage differ from source to source. Anchor on what the child can and cannot do yet.
The key ideas
Piaget sensorimotor stage
Birth to about 2 years. Infants learn through senses and motor action; key achievement is object permanence and the move from reflexes to goal-directed, intentional behavior.[1]
Piaget object permanence
Understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight; develops during the first year in the sensorimotor stage (OpenStax: between 5 and 8 months; other texts place full search later, around 8 to 12 months; ages vary). Infants lacking it do not search for a hidden toy; peekaboo and separation reactions relate to it.[1]
Piaget preoperational stage
About ages 2 to 7. Symbolic thought, language and pretend play grow, but reasoning is intuitive and not yet logical: egocentrism, centration, animism, conservation errors, transductive reasoning.[1][2]
Piaget egocentrism
Preoperational children cannot take another person's perspective and assume others see, think and feel as they do; shown by the three-mountain task. Not selfishness. Adolescents show a renewed 'imaginary audience' egocentrism.[1][2]
Piaget centration
Preoperational child focuses on one salient feature of a situation and ignores other dimensions (for example, the number of pieces rather than their size). It underlies failure at conservation tasks.[2][4]
Piaget conservation
Understanding that quantity (number, volume, mass) stays the same despite changes in appearance when nothing is added or removed. Preoperational children fail it; it is achieved in the concrete operational stage along with reversibility.[1][4]
Piaget transductive reasoning
Preoperational reasoning from one particular to another particular, linking unrelated events as cause and effect (for example, 'I was bad so it rained'). Differs from deduction and induction. Often paired with animism and artificialism.[2]
Piaget animism
Preoperational belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and intentions (the sidewalk was mad and made me fall).[2]
Piaget concrete operational stage
About ages 7 to 11. Logical thinking about concrete, real events: conservation, reversibility, classification, seriation. Abstract or hypothetical reasoning is still limited.[1]
Piaget formal operational stage
From about age 11 or 12 into adulthood. Abstract, hypothetical and deductive reasoning; systematic problem solving and moral and ideological thinking. Not everyone reaches it fully.[1][3]
How the ASWB exam tests it
- A baby searching for a hidden toy, or exploring by mouthing, is in this stage. A common wrong answer is preoperational.[1]
- An infant who looks for a toy under a blanket shows object permanence, a sensorimotor milestone.[1]
- Pretend play, magical thinking, and failing conservation tasks point to this stage. A common wrong answer is concrete operational.[1][2]
- A preschooler picks a toy they like themselves as a gift for a parent, assuming the parent wants the same thing. Not taking the other person's perspective is egocentrism.[1][2]
- A child who says the tall, thin glass has more water because it is taller is centering on height alone.[2][4]
- When water is poured into a taller glass, a preoperational child says there is more water; a concrete operational child says it is the same.[1][4]
The common trap
Confusing preoperational with concrete operational. A child who fails conservation is preoperational; one who knows pouring the water back restores the amount is concrete operational.[1][4]
Try a related question
LCSW practice · Assessment and Planning
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a child in Piaget’s Preoperational Stage of cognitive development?
- A.A child who understands that the amount of liquid remains the same when poured from a short, wide cup into a tall, narrow glass.
- B.A child who enjoys playing peek-a-boo and believes the person has disappeared when their face is covered.
- C.A child who believes that the moon follows them wherever they go and that inanimate objects, like toys, have feelings.
Show answer
Answer: C. A child who believes that the moon follows them wherever they go and that inanimate objects, like toys, have feelings.
This scenario illustrates egocentrism and animistic thinking, which are hallmark features of the Preoperational Stage, where children believe that inanimate objects have feelings and struggle to see things from perspectives other than their own.
More LCSW practice questions with answers
Related explainers
Sources
- 1.OpenStax Psychology 2e (Rice University). openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/9-2-lifespan-theories
- 2.LibreTexts (open textbook). courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/cognitive-development-2/
- 3.NCBI Bookshelf (StatPearls). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK448206/
- 4.LibreTexts (open textbook). socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Pittsburg_State_University/The_Developing_Child/15:_Cognitive_Development_in_Early_Childhood/15.01:_Piagets_Preoperational_Intelligence
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