WHAT IS THE SENSORIMOTOR STAGE? - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The sensorimotor stage is one of the four phases described by the French psychologist Jean Piaget in his theory of the cognitive development of children. This theory tries to explain the changes that a person's mind undergoes from birth to adulthood, especially with regard to mental abilities.

The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four phases Piaget described, extending from the time of birth to about 2 years of age. In it, children acquire knowledge mainly through their interaction with the environment, rather than using more complex mental mechanisms.

Piaget believed that children's minds are not simply smaller versions of adult ones, but that they function in completely different ways. To verify this, he studied the development of several children, and discovered that they went through four different phases in which there were both qualitative and quantitative differences.

Jean piaget

Each of the phases of Piaget's cognitive development serves a different function. In the case of the sensorimotor stage, this helps children to better understand the limits of their body and its relationship with the environment. In this article we will see some of its most important features.

Characteristics of the sensorimotor stage

1- Use of the senses and movement

In each of the stages of development described by Piaget, children mainly use a tool to relate to their environment and obtain more information about it. In the case of the sensorimotor stage, the main tools are movement and perception.

Thus, children up to 2 years of age try to understand their environment and their own body using mainly touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste. Because of this, we can observe them performing behaviors such as throwing objects on the ground, putting toys in their mouths, or simply trying to touch everything around them.

2- Very rudimentary thoughts

In later stages, children use logic and thinking to a greater or lesser extent to better understand the world around them. However, in the case of the sensorimotor stage the reasoning of children is still very limited, which prevents them from drawing very complex conclusions about what is happening in their environment.

For example, at the beginning of the sensorimotor stage the child is still not aware that other people and objects are entities separate from himself. It has been found that at the beginning of this phase children act as if objects cease to exist once they are out of their sight, and are surprised when they re-enter their field of vision.

Towards the end of this phase, what is known as "object permanence" develops. With this mental ability, children begin to realize that things in their environment do not cease to exist simply because they do not see them. The development of object permanence is one of the greatest cognitive achievements of this stage.

3- Beginning of the theory of mind

The theory of mind is the ability of people to realize that others are entities separate from themselves, with all that this implies. Thus, this mental ability is what allows us to understand that other individuals may have opinions and tastes different from ours.

The most recent research in this regard shows that the theory of mind does not fully develop until 3 or 4 years of age. However, the first elements of it can already be seen in the sensorimotor stage.

For example, before the first year of age, children are not aware that the people around them are individuals different from themselves, since they do not even know where the limits of their body are. On the contrary, between the first and the second year of life they begin to know themselves better and are able to differentiate themselves from other people.

Even so, during the sensorimotor stage children are not yet able to understand that other individuals also have needs, tastes and preferences. This is what is sometimes known as "childish selfishness," a characteristic that often disappears over the years.

4- Understanding the cause - effect relationship

Another of the most important mental changes that occur during the sensorimotor stage is the understanding of cause and effect relationships. During their first months of life, children do not understand that their actions have consequences in the world around them, since they are not able to represent their environment on a mental level.

Over time, however, the infant begins to realize that using his body can cause changes in his environment. For example, if you push an object that is on a table, it will fall to the floor, and possibly your father or mother will pick it up and put it back in the same place.

The understanding of cause and effect relationships is still very rudimentary at the sensorimotor stage. In fact, it is based entirely on the most physical plane possible, and children reach their conclusions using only movement and the senses. We will have to wait for later stages so that they can understand the most abstract part of this phenomenon.

5- Presence of very fast changes

Of all the stages of cognitive development, the sensorimotor is probably the one in which the most changes occur in the fastest way. From birth to two years of age, children acquire a wealth of skills and abilities, including everything from crawling or walking to speaking.

In fact, Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into several shorter phases in order to study all the changes that occurred in it. Despite the fact that the development of the child still has to undergo many changes from the age of 2, in this first phase of life the foundations are established so that all of them can occur later.

References

1. "The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development" in: VeryWell Mind. Retrieved on: April 09, 2020 from VeryWell Mind: verywellmind.com.
2. "Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development" in: Simply Psychology. Retrieved on: April 09, 2020 from Simply Psychology: simplypsychology.org.
3. "What Are Piaget's Stages of Development and How Are They Used?" in: Healthline. Retrieved on: April 09, 2020 from Healthline: healthline.com.
4. "Stage Theory Of Cognitive Development (Piaget)" in: Learning Theories. Retrieved on: April 09, 2020 from Learning Theories: learning-theories.com.
5. "Piaget's theory of cognitive development" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: April 09, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.