The 4 stages of development of Piaget (theory of cognitive development)

What are the 4 stages of development of Piaget?

The developmental stages of Piaget are four:

• Sensory motor stage (0 to 2 years) Pre-operational stage (from two to seven years) Concrete operations stage (from seven to eleven years) Formal operations stage (from eleven years onwards)

These phases, also known as Piaget's stages or stages, were the product of the research of the Swiss psychologist and researcher Jean Piaget, who proposed a theory on cognitive development in humans that prevails to this day.

For Piaget, the development of intelligence begins in childhood and has four stages with defined ages and characteristics.

Sensory motor stage (from birth to two years)

It is the phase in which the child begins to interact with the outside world, taking an interest in the stimuli that it provides.

Among other outstanding characteristics of this stage of development, the following stand out:

• Innate ability to distinguish speech from other sounds Communication through crying during the first year of life. Pronunciation of first words and short sentences from 12 months. Interest in playful activities that generate sensory reactions (tickling, bright colors, songs or sounds, etc.) Repetition of activities, as a way to better understand what happens in the outside world (repeatedly throwing a toy, pulling a blanket, etc..).

See also Learning.

Pre-operational stage (from two to seven years old)

This stage of cognitive development, characterized by the entry of the boy or girl into the formal educational system, involves the development of logic and the use of categories to classify objects and reality.

Some typical events of this phase are:

• First social interactions outside the family context. Vocabulary expansion (due to social interaction and school learning). Development of empathy and the ability to interpret roles, separating them from reality. Self-centered thinking (focused on your needs). The child is very curious to understand the world, so he often asks the "why" of things.

Specific operations (from seven to eleven years old)

In this phase of development, children begin to learn and practice simple mathematical operations that stimulate their logical thinking (2 + 2 = 4). Other advances can also be seen, such as:

• Ability to be empathetic (can understand how other people feel). Development of logical thinking in an initial stage. Abstract thinking is undeveloped, which prevents them from understanding complex issues.

See also Childhood.

Formal operations (from eleven years onwards)

The last stage of cognitive development goes from pre-adolescence to adulthood. In this phase it is possible to notice progress in several aspects:

• Development of a greater capacity to generate abstract conclusions from logical thinking. Understanding of the existence of different ways of thinking to yours, especially during the early years of adolescence. From this stage of development, children begin to pose hypotheses for themselves, including aspects of reality that are still unknown.

See also Stages of human development.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development

In the 19th century, the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget proposed a theory that had a great impact in the behavioral sciences. Piaget's theory of cognitive development states that human intelligence has phases with defined characteristics. And that the development of these cognitive capacities begins from the moment of birth.

For Piaget, each stage of development helps to structure the next, which makes the child acquire more and more capacities and abilities, expanding his cognitive capacity in different aspects: sensory experience, language, logical thinking, social interaction, etc.

However, although Piaget's theory of cognitive development describes certain types of progress according to age, it is not a rigid approach, since each child has his own process. Therefore, a child's failure to reach a milestone at a specific age does not mean that he or she will not achieve it later.

The factors that influence cognitive development are multiple, ranging from the infant's thinking pattern, its interaction with the environment and external stimuli, etc. Therefore, there are multiple reasons why a child could fall behind with respect to the evolution of their cognitive abilities.

See also:

• Cognitive development Cognitive paradigm Personality theories