Question

explain Piagets 4 stages of cognitive abilities and give examples

Answer 1

PIaget developed 4 stages of cognitive development .Let us discuss the each stage one by one with examples

Sensorimotor stage - This stage lasts from birth till 2 years .In this stage the child learns to have the idea of the world through sensations .and the movements .The actions which are involved in this stage are sucking , grappling ,Looking etc .Child learn object permanence in this stage . They develop a sense that their action can result in things which happened around them .

An example of this stage is a child who is sucking the thumb . But later he repeats this sucking activity intentionally .

Preoperational stage - This stage lasts from 2 to 7 years of age . In this stage the child starts the symbolic thinking process and uses pictures to express things . Child develops an egocentric perspective . The language development takes place but still the child thinks in a very concrete way.

An example of this is a child using a broom to represent a horse .

Concrete operational stage - This stage lasts from 7 to 11 years . In this stage the child develops logical and concrete thinking . They also develop the concept of conservation .A use of inductive reasoning based on some specific information is used .

An example of this is when a child is around a cat he or she feels irritated and has a runny nose or irritated eyes .

Formal operational stage - The stage starts from 12 years and then continues. At this stage the grown up child uses abstract thinking and questions about hypothetical events .Theoretical reasoning also comes into play . The thinking pattern becomes more logical, moral , philosophical and abstract in nature . Deductive logic is also seen in this stage .

An example of this is a child asking about the various physical processes in the body and why they happen .