Piaget's Stages Of Development

According to the developmental theory, there are four main stages that children go through in their development. The stages for development are the sensorimotor, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stages, and the formal operational stage. The Sensorimotor Stage occurs from birth to two years old. In this stage babies and toddlers use sensory stimulation to learn. The sensory and motor skills and perceptions are what determine a baby’s intelligence. Piaget says that “object permanence” should be learned when in this stage. Object permanence refers to the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed. With this, babies are able to understand that things in the world are separate from the baby itself.

In this stage, children start to learn through making things up and their imagination. Children in this stage should begin to use language more effectively than the children in stage 1, however there are still some children that struggle with this concept. In this stage children have egocentric thinking, which is not being capable of understanding things from another perspective.
The third stage, the Concrete Operational Stage occurs from age 7 to 11 years. Children in this stage start developing logical thinking skills. Kids in this age range may have difficulties with abstract thinking which may cause thinking patterns to be “black and white.” Empathy begins to develop as egocentric thinking starts declining. In this stage, children start to realize not everybody thinks the same things, has the same feelings or opinions that they may have. During this stage, it may become easier for children to see things from others perspectives.
The last stage of development is the Formal Operational Stage is from adolescence years to adulthood. In this stage there should be full development of potential for logical thinking. In this final stage, it is possible for individuals to start thinking hypothetically and abstractly. Adolescents and adults become more realistic about day to day

Some differences between the ages are that the three-year-old is just starting to speak and use language. This child is learning through pretending and playing. This child is not able to think logically yet and they are not able to understand the viewpoints of others. The nine-year-old is beginning to develop logical thoughts and is still struggling with hypothetical ideas. This child is less egocentric. He/she understands their own thoughts that are original to them, and may start to understand others perspectives. According to the stages of development created by Piaget, the nine-year-old child’s language should be far more developed than the three-year-old child. Next, a nine-year-old has more capacity for logical thinking than the three-year-old. Another reason is a nine-year-old is going to be able to understand someone else’s thoughts and opinions better than a three-year-old