Jean Piaget’s theory says children move through four distinct stages of cognitive development in a fixed order, pushed along by maturation and hands-on experience with their environment. Along the way, children’s understanding of the world changes both qualitatively and quantitatively as they build that understanding for themselves.
Exams frequently test the exact order of Piaget’s four stages and ask you to match each one to its key milestone, like object permanence in the sensorimotor stage. Students often mix up egocentrism with selfishness; remember that in psychology, egocentric thought simply means a child cannot yet see a situation from another person’s perspective. Also expect questions on the principle of conservation, since mastering it is the marker of moving into the concrete operational stage.
Part of Basic Psychology, module “Human Development”. Sign in (free) to read the full notes, flashcards and the lesson quiz.