Piaget's Stages of Intellectual Development

At what age do babies typically begin to understand object permanence?

In Piaget's experiment, what did children tend to say about the number of counters in the row that was pushed closer together?

According to Piaget's three-mountain task, what is the characteristic of children's thinking in the pre-operational stage?

What is the concept that children begin to understand in the pre-operational stage, where objects fall into categories?

What was the typical response of children under the age of 7 when asked if there were more dogs or animals in Piaget's experiment?

What is a key limitation of Piaget's conservation studies, according to McGarrigle and Donaldson's research?

According to Piaget, what is a characteristic of children in the stage of formal operations?

What was the finding of Hughes' study on egocentrism in children?

What is a criticism of Piaget's theory, according to the text?

What is a key difference between the stage of concrete operations and the stage of formal operations?

Piaget's Stages of Intellectual Development

Sensorimotor Stage

Infants understand object permanence, seeking hidden objects from around 8 months old.

Pre-Operational Stage

Conservation: Children struggle to understand that quantity remains constant despite changes in appearance.
Egocentrism: Children have a limited, self-centered perspective, finding it difficult to consider other viewpoints.
Class Inclusion: Children can classify objects but struggle with more advanced concepts, such as recognizing a dog as both a dog and an animal.

Stage of Concrete Operations

Children typically develop conservation skills around age 7.
They can perform better on tasks requiring egocentrism and class inclusion.
However, their reasoning is limited to physical objects and concrete situations.

Stage of Formal Operations

Children develop formal reasoning skills, focusing on the form of an argument rather than its content.
They can reason scientifically and appreciate abstract ideas.

Evaluation of Piaget's Research

Conservation Research

Piaget's studies may have been influenced by the experiment's setup, leading to misleading results.
Alternative studies, such as McGarrigle and Donaldson's, have shown that children can conserve quantity when the experiment's changes appear accidental.

Egocentrism Research

Hughes' study demonstrated that children as young as 3.5 can imagine other perspectives when the scenario is more relatable.
This challenges Piaget's idea that children are egocentric until around age 7.

Learn about Jean Piaget's stages of intellectual development, including the sensorimotor stage and pre-operational stage, and how they relate to object permanence and basic mathematical understanding.