Q3 SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

BACK GROUND:-
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget created and studied an account of how children and youth gradually
become able to think logically and scientifically. He presented the theory of stages of cognitive
development.

INTRODUCTION OF PIAGET:-
Piaget was born in Switzerland in the late 1800s and was a precocious student, publishing his first
scientific paper when he was just 11 years old. His early exposure to the intellectual development of
children came when he worked as an assistant to Alfred Benet and Theodore Simon as they worked to
standardize their famous IQ test.

Much of Piaget's interest in the cognitive development of children was inspired by his observations of
his own nephew and daughter. These observations reinforced his budding hypothesis that children's
minds were not merely smaller versions of adult minds.

According to Piaget, learning proceeded by the interplay of assimilation and accommodation. These
two processes lead not only to short term learning but also long term development. The long term
development is really the main focus of Piaget’s cognitive theory.

SEQUENCE OF STAGES:-
After observing children closely, Piaget proposed that cognition developed through distinct stages from
birth through the end of adolescence. By stages he meant a sequence of thinking patterns with four key
features.

1. They always happen in the same order.

2. NO stage is ever skipped.
3. Each stage is a significant transformation of the stage before.
4. Each later stage incorporated the earlier stages in to itself.
NAME OF STAGES:-
1. Sensorimotor stage (0 -2years)
2. The preoperational stage (2-4 to 4-7 years)
3. The concrete operational stage (7 – 11 years)
4. The formal operational stage (12 years onwards)

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (0-2 YEARS):-

According to Piaget, the first stage is named as Sensorimotor stage and is defined as the period when
infants “thick” by means of their senses and motor actions. The infants action allow the child to
represent (or construct simple concept of) object and events.

During much infancy, of course a child can barely talk, so sensorimotor development initially happens
without the support of language.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations
 Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and
listening
 Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence)
 They are separate beings from the people and objects around them
 They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them

SUB-STAGES OF SENSORIMOTOR STAGE:-

The sensorimotor stage of development can be broken down in to six sub-stages. These are

I. Reflex Acts
II. Primary Circular Reactions
III. Secondary Circular Reactions
IV. Coordinating Secondary Schemes
V. Tertiary Circular Reactions
VI. Symbolic Thoughts

REFLEX ACTS:
The first stage (first month of life) is the stage of reflex acts. The neonate responds to external
stimulation with innate reflex actions.
Example:

For example, if we brush a baby’s mouth with our finger it will suck reflexively.

PRIMARY CIRCULAR REACTIONS:-

The second sub-stage is the stage of primary circular reactions. The baby will repeat pleasurable actions
centered on his own body.

Example:

Babies from 1-4 months old will wiggle their fingers, kick their legs and suck their thumbs.

COORDINATING SECONDARY SCHEMES:-

The fourth sub-stage (from 8-12 months) is the stage of coordinating secondary schemes. Instead of
simply prolonging interesting events, babies now show signs of an ability to use their acquired
knowledge to reach a goal.

Example:

For example, the infant will not just shake the rattle, but will reach out and knock to one side an object
that stands in the way of it getting hold of the rattle.

TERTIARY CIRCULAR REACTIONS:-

Next come the stage of tertiary circular reactions. These differ from secondary y circular reactions in that
they are intentional adaptation to specific situations. The infant who once explored an object by taking it
apart now tries to put it back together.

Example:

For example, he can line up his blocks or cars or stuff toys, he puts back the nesting cups one inside the
other. He stakes the bricks.

SYMBOLLIC THOUGHTS:-
Finally, in sub stage six there is the beginning of symbolic thought. This is transitional to the
preoperational stage of cognitive development. Babies can now form mental representations to objects.
This means that they have developed the ability to visualize things that are not physically present. This is
the crucial to the acquisition of object permanence. The most fundamental achievement of the whole
sensorimotor stage of development.

Example:

For example, if we place a toy under a blanket the child who has achieved object permanence knows, it
is there and can actively seek it.

During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through
sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at the earliest period of this
stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses.

It is during the sensorimotor stage that children go through a period of dramatic growth and learning. As
kids interact with their environment, they are continually making new discoveries about how the world
works.

The cognitive development that occurs during this period takes place over a relatively short period of
time and involves a great deal of growth. Children not only learn how to perform physical actions such
as crawling and walking; they also learn a great deal about language from the people with whom they
interact. Piaget also broke this stage down into a number of different sub-stages. It is during the final
part of the sensorimotor stage that early representational thought emerges.

The Preoperational Stage (2-4 TO 4-7 YEARS)

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects.
 Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of
others.
 While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about things in
very concrete terms.
The Concrete Operational Stage (7 -11 YEARS)
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events
 They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short, wide
cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example
 Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
 Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general
principle.

The Formal Operational Stage (12 YEARS ONWARDS)

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems
 Abstract thought emerges
 Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that
require theoretical and abstract reasoning
 Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information.

CONCLUSION:-
After all discussions we come to know about the stages of cognitive development. All stages have the
sequence of occurring and order of appearing. Sensorimotor stage is the first and most important stage
of a child’s cognitive development.

It is important to note that Piaget did not view children's intellectual development as a quantitative
process; that is, kids do not just add more information and knowledge to their existing knowledge as
they get older. Instead, Piaget suggested that there is a qualitative change in how children think as they
gradually process through these four stages.4 A child at age 7 doesn't just have more information about
the world than he did at age 2; there is a fundamental change in how he thinks about the world.
These concepts develop and described by Jean Piaget .McNally has explained it in detail which make it
easy to understand.

REFERENCE:-
I. Stages of cognitive development guide by Kendra Cherry
(www.verywellmind.com)
II. Stages of cognitive development by Saul McLeod
(www.simplypsychology.org)