Sensorimotor Stage

1. Sensorimotor stage

 

 

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Piaget described this stage from birth to approximately 2 years as a period of rapid cognitive growth.

Initially equipped with a set of reflex movements and a set of perceptual systems, an infant quickly begins to build up direct knowledge of world around her, by relating physical actions to perceived results of those actions.

Through the processes of assimilation and accommodation, these actions become progressively adapted to the world (e.g. grasping schema).

During the sensorimotor stage infants learn mostly through trial and error learning. Children initially rely on reflexes, eventually modifying them to adapt to their world.

Behaviors become goal directed, progressing from concrete to abstract goals. Objects and events can be mentally represented by the child (sometimes called object permanence).

→ Infancy is characterized by extreme egocentrism, where the child has no understanding of the world other than her own current point of view. The main development during this stage is the understanding that objects exist and events occur in the world independently of one's own actions

→ Object permanence means knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a mental representation (i.e. a schema) of the object.E.g. if you place a toy under a blanket, the child who has achieved object permanence knows it is there and can actively seek it. At the beginning of this stage the child behaves as if the toy had simply disappeared.

→ Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCdLNuP7OA8

Substages of the Sensorimotor Stage:

:The sensorimotor stage can be divided into six separate substages that are characterized by the development of a new skill.

Reflexes (0-1 month):

The child understands the environment purely through inborn reflexes e.g. sucking and looking.

2. Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months):

Coordinating sensation and new schemas. E.g., a child may suck his or her thumb by accident and then later intentionally repeat the action.

3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months):

The child becomes more focused on the world and begins to intentionally repeat an action in order to trigger a response in the environment.

4 Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months):

The child starts to show clearly intentional actions. The child may also combine schemas in order to achieve a desired effect.

5. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months):

Children begin a period of trial-and-error experimentation.

6. Early Representational Thought (18-24 months):

Children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world in the final sensorimotor substage. During this time, children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than just actions.

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