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9.3: Applying Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage

  • Page ID
    139916
    • Todd LaMarr
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    Sensorimotor Stages

    While learning about the sensorimotor stage, did you notice how Piaget used observable behaviors from children to understand and categorize cognitive progression? Children reveal their thinking through their observable behaviors. The key then to understanding a child’s cognitive development is that we, as caregivers, need to take the time to carefully observe and document children’s behavior. The sensorimotor substages can act like a map to help us understand a child’s current cognitive stage and also the next stage(s) they will progress into. Knowing which substage children are in can inform us about the function of their behaviors and provide us insight into possible activities to support their cognitive progression.

    For example, in stage 3, infants take delight in being able to make things purposefully happen on their own; therefore, caregivers can consider including play objects that infants can easily manipulate and that have a ‘consequence’--an outcome that can be experienced by the child. In comparison, during stage 5, an infant directly experiments with their environment; therefore, caregivers can include various play objects that can be used to engage with the immediate contextual environment. Children in stage 5 love pouring water back and forth between containers of different sizes and shapes. As contexts change (e.g., inside/outside, water play, table activities, etc.,), so too should the experimental play objects to best encourage experimental curiosity. Remember, the first and most important thing we can do as caregivers is purposefully observe children. Observe the children and how they use objects and then reflect on their behaviors to consider additional or alternative objects to support their experimentation.

    Preoperational Stage

    Although Piaget suggested that only one year of toddlerhood is spent in the preoperational stage, learning about this stage is important because it sheds light on the future trajectory of cognitive growth in toddlers. Furthermore, the fact that Piaget includes the second year of a child’s life in the next stage of cognitive development, highlights the important cognitive growth that occurs from 24 to 36 months of age.

    At about 2 years of age, and until about 7 years of age, children move into the preoperational stage. During this stage, children begin to use more language and to think more abstractly about objects. The term ‘operational’ refers to logical manipulation of information, so children at this stage are considered pre-operational because children’s logic is based on their own personal knowledge of the world so far, rather than on conventional knowledge. Children also begin to use more conversational language in the preoperational stage, but they cannot understand adult logic or mentally manipulate information. [1] [2]

    The preoperational period is defined by semiotic function, or representational thought through signs and symbols. This stage exhibits five characteristic behaviors: imitation, symbolic play, drawing, mental image, and verbal recalling of events. The first behavior, imitation, is when the child models observed behavior even after the disappearance of the thing the child is imitating. For example, the child may mimic a person’s dance or how they play with an object, even after the person is no longer present. The next behavior, symbolic play, is a step beyond imitation. This “make-believe” or “play pretend” behavior is characterized by the child’s ability to project an idea onto an object, symbolically. “Let’s pretend that I am the mama and this is my baby,” and the child points to a stuffed animal. In this example, both the child and the stuffed animals are symbols in the game of make-believe. The third identified behavior, drawing, begins early in the preoperational period, and incorporates both play and imitation. Drawing often begins with scribbles and proceeds to graphic imagery with the representation of objects that are present in the child’s world. Through drawing, the child may represent family members with stick figures, with the key characteristic being that the child understands that the stick figures are only representations of the family, not the actual family members. Finally, the verbal recalling of events, which is the culmination of semiotic function, is the child’s use of language to imitate and reflect upon events that occurred in the child’s past. Mastery of semiotic function is important because it indicates that a child can think and assimilate knowledge rather than merely act on objects that are physically present (Marwaha, Goswami & Vashist, 2017). [3]

    Limitations of Piaget’s Theory


    [1]​​Introduction to Psychology” by Walinga & Stangor. CC by NC SA 4.0

    [2] Lally & Valentine-French (2019). Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective. CC by NC SA 4.0

    [3] Scott & Cogburn (2021). Piaget. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. CC by 4.0


    This page titled 9.3: Applying Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage is shared under a mixed 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Todd LaMarr.