3 years old 4 years old 5 years old

Cannot turn, stop suddenly or
quickly
Can jump a distance of 15 to 24
inches
Can ascend a stairway unaided,
alternating test
Can hop, using an irregular series
of jumps with some variations
added
Have more effective control of
stopping and turning
Can jump a distance of 24 to 33
inches
Can descend long stairway
alternating feet, if supported
Can hop four to six steps on one
foot
Can start, turn and stop effectively
in games
Can make a running jump of 28 to
36 inches
Can descend a long stairway
unaided, alternating feet
Can easily hop a distance of 16
feet

Advance Significance Example

Children do not need to be in sensorimotor Simon ask his mother about the elephant
contact with an object, person, or event in they saw on their trip to the circus several
Understanding of order to think about it months later
Symbols Children can imagine the object or people Rolf pretends that a slice of apple is a
have properties other than those they vacuum cleaner “vrooming” across the
actually have kitchen table
Children are aware that superficial Boris knows that his teacher is dressed up
Understanding of
alterations do not change the nature of as a pirate but still his teacher underneath
Identities
things the costume
Seeing a ball roll from behind a wall,
Understanding of
Children realize that events have causes Anasa looks behind the wall for the person
Cause and Effect
who kicked the ball
Sigrid sorts the pinecones she collected on
Children organize objects, people and
Ability to classify a nature walk into two piles according to
vents into meaning categories
their size: big and little
Minjee shares some candy with her
Understanding Children can count and deal with
friends, counting to make sure that each
number quantities
girl gets the same amount
Children become more able to imagine Carlos tries to comfort his friend when he
Empathy
how others might feel sees that his friend is upset
Oxana wants to save some cookies for
herself, so she hides them for her younger
Children become aware of mental activity brother in a pasta box. She knows her
Theory of Mind
and the functioning of the mind cookies will be safe there because her
brother will not look in a place where he
doesn’t expect to find cookies

Limitations Description Example

Timothy teases his younger sister that he
Centration:
Children focus on one aspect of a situation has more juice than she does because his
Inability to
and neglect others juice box has been poured into a tall, wide
decenter
glass
Timothy does not realize that the juice in
Children fail to understand that some
each glass can be poured into the juice box
Irreversibility operations or actions can be revered,
from which it came, contradicting his
restoring the original situation
claim that he has more than his sister
In the conversation, Timothy does not
Focus on states Children fail to understand the
understand that transforming the shape of
rather than significance of the transformation between
a liquid (pouring it from one container into
transformations states
another) does not change the amount
Children do not use deductive or inducting
Sarah was mean to her brother. Then her
Transductive reasoning: instead they jump from one
brother got sick. Sarah concludes that she
Reasoning particular to another and see cause when
made her brother sick
non exists
 Kara doesn’t realize that she needs to turn
a book around so that her father can see
Children assume everyone else thinks,
Egocentrism the picture she is asking him to explain to
perceives, and feels and they do
her. Instead, she holds the book directly in
front of her, where she can see it
Amanda says that spring is trying to come
Animism Children attribute life objects not alive but winters is saying “I won’t go! I won’t
go!”
Inability to
Courtney is confused by a sponge made to
distinguish Children confuse what is real with
look like a rock. She states that it looks
appearance from outward appearance
like a rock and it really is a rock
reality

App.
Level What Children Understand What a Child Might Say
Age
Children do not understand that any two
Carlos says, “You can’t have two feelings at
feelings can coexist. They cannot even
0 3-6 the same time because you only have one
acknowledge feelings two similar emotions
mind!”
at once (such as mad and sad)
Children are developing separate categories
for positive and negative emotions. They
can be aware of two emotions at the same Kayla says, “If my brother hit me. I would
1 6-7
time, but only if both are either positive or be mad and sad”
negative and are directed toward the same
target
Dominic says, “I was excited about going to
Children can recognize having two feelings
Mexico and glad to see my grandparents. I
of the same kind directed toward different
2 7-8 wasn’t scared; I couldn’t feel glad and
target. However, they cannot acknowledge
scared at the same time; I would have to be
holing contradictory feelings
two people at once”
Ashley can express a negative feeling
Children can integrate sets of positive and toward her baby brother (“I was mad at
negative emotions. They can understand Tony, so I pinched him”) and a positive
3 8-10 having contrary feelings at the same time, feeling toward her father (“I was happy my
but only if they are directed toward different father didn’t spank me”), but she cannot
targets recognize that she has positive and negative
feelings (anger and love) toward both.
Children can describe conflicting feelings Lisa says, “I’m excited about going to my
4 11
toward that same target new school, but I’m a little scared too”

Stage Description Example

On this undifferentiated level of
friendship, children are egocentric and
have trouble considering another person’s
0: Momentary
POV; they tend to think only about what “She lives on my street”
Playmateship (3-7
they want from a relationship. Most very “He as the Power Rangers”
yrs)
young children defense their friends in
terms of physical closeness and value
them for material or physical attributes
“She’s not my friend anymore, because
1: One-way she wouldn’t go with me when I wanted
On this unilateral level, a “good friend” do
Assistance (4-9 her to”
what the child wants the friend to do
yrs) “He’s my friend because he always says
yes when I want to borrow his toy”
2: Two- way fair- This reciprocal level overlaps stage 1. It “We are friends; we do things for each
weather involves give-and-take, but still serves other” or “A friend is someone who plays
cooperation (6-12 many separate self-interests, rather than be with you when you don’t have anybody
 yrs) common interest of two friends else to play with”
On this mutual level, children view a
friendship as having a life of its own. It is
3: Intimate, “It takes a long time to make a close
an ongoing, systematic, committed
mutually shared friend, so you really feel bad if you find
relationship that incorporates more than
relationships (9- out that your friend is trying to make other
doing things for each other. Friends
15 yrs) friends too”
become possessive and demand
exclusivity
4: Autonomous “A good friendship is a real commitment,
In this interdependent stage, children
interdependence a risk you have to take; you have to
respect friends’ needs for both dependency
(beginning at the support and trust and give, but you have
ang autonomy
age 12) able to let go too”

COMMITMENT
PRESENT ABSENT
Identity Achievement Moratorium
EXPLORATIONCRISIS/

PRESENT

“I like psychology and am taking a variety

“I want to help people and am good at
of course to determine whether I want to
science, so I decided to be a psychologist.”
major in it or not.”
Identity Foreclosure Identity Diffusion
ABSENT

“I am taking psychology, because that’s “I haven’t given the future a lot of thought.
what everyone in my family does when I’m sure something will come along to push
they finish high school.” me in one direction or another.”

Decline Retained May Improve

Tasks requiring rehearsal
Tasks that require elaboration Procedural Memory:
Semantic Memory:
Episodic Memory: Motor skills and habits
Vocabulary and knowledge
Memories of specific events Priming: ability to solve a
problem or answer a question