As we each grow and develop, many things change, not only physically, but emotiionally and mentally as well. John Piaget, a famed Swiss psychologist, devoted his work to developing a theory of cognitive development (development of thinking) derived from his observations of infants and children. He then divided his theory into four separate stages, and associated different age groups with each. The first stage is the Sensorimotor stage that occurs between birth to around age 2. During this stage, infants are able to recognize that concepts and images represent real people, places, and things. As they are learning to explore the world, they also develop the idea of object permanence, which is that objects do not just simply disappear when they …show more content…
Children then begin to refer to objects and events with words, but still unable to reason. Concrete operational development is the third stage, and occurs between the ages of 7 to 12. At this age, children are able to understand the theory of conservation; that if nothing is added or taken away, the quantity remains the same regardless of the container size/shape. They are also able to understand concrete events and think logically about them. In addition, they can reverse their thinking and consider objects in terms of multiple characteristics. At the last stage of cognitive development, formal operational development, thinking begins to develop a greater degree of abstraction when dealing hypothetical situations and events. This stage, beginning at about 11 or 12 and continuing …show more content…
This being said, they would have grasped word and object reference, as well as the idea of object permanene. In the concrete operational stage, they will grasp the idea of conservation. Conservation can be thought of in this way: if nothing is added or taken away, the quantity will remain the same regardless of the shape of the container it is in. In the concrete operational stage, children will also become capable of reversible thinking. Although these children are beginning to think on more logical rather than centrational levels, they still face the inability to cope with abstract concepts. These children are school age, and taking in many new experiences and knowledge. Despite this, they are far better at understanding those concrete objects that can be seen, touched, or at least imagined, rather than abstract ideas or