Which psychologist proposed the stages of cognitive development including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational?

Which psychologist proposed the stages of cognitive development including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational?

• A. Piaget
• B. Erikson
• C. Vygotsky
• D. Kohlberg

Answer: (A)

Jean Piaget developed a stage-based account of how thinking grows, outlining four progressive levels: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. In the sensorimotor stage, from birth to about two years, thinking is tied to immediate actions and senses, with infants gradually discovering object permanence. The preoperational stage, roughly ages two to seven, brings language and symbolic play, but thinking is still dominated by egocentrism and a lack of understanding of conservation. In the concrete operational stage (about seven to eleven), children begin to use logical operations on concrete objects, grasp conservation, classification, and reversibility, and their thinking becomes more organized. Finally, in the formal operational stage (roughly adolescence and beyond), abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning emerges, allowing for deductive thinking and planning. Other theorists focus on different aspects of development: Erikson emphasizes psychosocial tasks across the lifespan, Vygotsky highlights social and cultural influences on learning, and Kohlberg concentrates on the progression of moral reasoning. The stages of cognitive development described here are specifically associated with Piaget, making him the best fit for this question.

Jean Piaget developed a stage-based account of how thinking grows, outlining four progressive levels: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. In the sensorimotor stage, from birth to about two years, thinking is tied to immediate actions and senses, with infants gradually discovering object permanence. The preoperational stage, roughly ages two to seven, brings language and symbolic play, but thinking is still dominated by egocentrism and a lack of understanding of conservation. In the concrete operational stage (about seven to eleven), children begin to use logical operations on concrete objects, grasp conservation, classification, and reversibility, and their thinking becomes more organized. Finally, in the formal operational stage (roughly adolescence and beyond), abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning emerges, allowing for deductive thinking and planning.

Other theorists focus on different aspects of development: Erikson emphasizes psychosocial tasks across the lifespan, Vygotsky highlights social and cultural influences on learning, and Kohlberg concentrates on the progression of moral reasoning. The stages of cognitive development described here are specifically associated with Piaget, making him the best fit for this question.