What is Piaget’s Theory | What Are the 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

4 Stages of Cognitive Development in Children

Posted On February 11, 2025

According to Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children pass through four different stages of cognitive development (mental development).

Piaget’s Theory Of Cognitive Development:-
He believed that children are little scientists and learn a lot of things about the world. Based on his observations, Piaget concluded that children are not less intelligent than adults, but they think differently. According to Piaget, early cognitive development involves processes based on actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations.
Piaget’s four stages are according to age and are marked by important characteristics of thought processes. It also includes goals that children should achieve as they move through a given stage.

Piaget’s Theory- Four Stages of Cognitive development are:
Piaget’s Theory Stage 1- Sensorimotor from Birth to 2 years
During this stage of cognitive development, infants and also toddlers gain knowledge from sensory experiences and manipulating objects. It includes motor activity without the use of symbols. All types of things are learned based on experiences or trial and error methods. The main goal at this stage is knowing that an object still exists even when you can’t see it or it is hidden.

Piaget’s Theory Stage 2 – The pre-operational stage between 2 to 7 years
During this stage of cognitive development, children learn through pretend play and they still struggle with logic and also taking the point of view of other people. Imagination and memory are still developing during this stage. At this stage, children are egocentric and because of that they have difficulty thinking outside of their own viewpoints.

Piaget’s Theory Stage 3 – Stage of Concrete Operational between 7 to 11 years
Children are less egocentric in this stage. Working things out inside their head is one of the main goals of this stage. Known as “Operational thought”, it allows kids to solve problems without physically encountering things in the world of reality.

Piaget’s Theory Stage 4 – The last stage -Formal Operational
Children of 11 years and up, make use of symbols to understand abstract concepts in this stage. They begin to think more about social, moral, ethical, philosophical, and political issues that require abstract and theoretical reasoning.

Jean Piaget always believed that people of all ages developed intellectually. Children learn by nature on their own without influence from adults.

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