Medically Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD on August 17, 2020
Piaget's stages of development are part of a theory about the phases of normal intellectual development, from infancy through adulthood. This includes thought, judgment, and knowledge. The stages were named after psychologist and developmental biologist Jean Piaget, who recorded the intellectual development and abilities of infants, children, and teens. Piaget's four stages of intellectual (or cognitive) development are: Piaget acknowledged that some children may pass through the stages at different ages than the averages noted above. He also said some children may show characteristics of more than one stage at a given time. But he insisted that: Piaget's 1936 theory broke new ground because he found that children's brains work in very different ways than adults'. Before his theory, many believed that children were not yet capable of thinking as well as grown-ups. Some experts disagree with his idea of stages. Instead, they see development as continuous. Another criticism is that Piaget didn't consider how a child's culture and social environment affect their development. During the early stages, according to Piaget, infants are only aware of what is right in front of them. They focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical interactions with their immediate environment. Because they don't yet know how things react, they're constantly experimenting. They shake or throw things, put things in their mouth, and learn about the world through trial and error. The later stages include goal-oriented behavior that leads to a desired result. Between ages 7 and 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists even though they can no longer see it. This important milestone -- known as object permanence -- is a sign that memory is developing. After infants start crawling, standing, and walking, their increased physical mobility leads to more cognitive development. Near the end of the sensorimotor stage (18-24 months), infants reach another important milestone -- early language development, a sign that they are developing some symbolic abilities.
During this stage (toddler through age 7), young children are able to think about things symbolically. Their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and engage in make-believe. But their thinking is based on intuition and still not completely logical. They cannot yet grasp more complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison. At this time, elementary-age and preadolescent children -- ages 7 to 11 -- show logical, concrete reasoning. Children's thinking becomes less focused on themselves. They're increasingly aware of external events. They begin to realize that their own thoughts and feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality. But during this stage, most children still can't think abstractly or hypothetically. Adolescents who reach this fourth stage of intellectual development -- usually at age 11-plus -- are able to use symbols related to abstract concepts, such as algebra and science. They can think about things in systematic ways, come up with theories, and consider possibilities. They also can ponder abstract relationships and concepts such as justice. Although Piaget believed in lifelong intellectual growth, he insisted that the formal operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development. He also said that continued intellectual development in adults depends on the buildup of knowledge.
Along with the stages of development, Piaget's theory has several other main concepts.
Schemas are thought processes that are essentially building blocks of knowledge. A baby, for example, knows that it must make a sucking motion to eat. That's a schema.
Assimilation is how you use your existing schemas to interpret a new situation or object. For example, a child seeing a skunk for the first time might call it a cat.
Accommodation is what happens when you change a schema, or create a new one, to fit new information you learn. The child accommodates when they understand that not all furry, four-legged creatures are cats.
Equilibrium happens when you're able to use assimilation to fit in most of the new information you learn. So you're not constantly adding new schemas.
Piaget's theory has influenced education and parenting. Here are some practical ways teachers and parents can put his ideas to work:
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Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M.D. — Written by Ashley Marcin — Updated on March 29, 2018
- Stages
- Other terms
- How-to
- Cons
- Vs. Vygotsky
- Vs. Montessori
- Takeaway
Who was Piaget and what are his stages of development?
Jean Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist who studied children in the early 20th century. His theory of intellectual or cognitive development, published in 1936, is still used today in some branches of education and psychology. It focuses on children, from birth through adolescence, and characterizes different stages of development, including:
- language
- morals
- memory
- reasoning
Piaget made several assumptions about children while developing his theory:
- Children build their own knowledge based on their experiences.
- Children learn things on their own without influence from adults or older children.
- Children are motivated to learn by nature. They don’t need rewards as motivation.
There are four stages in all:
- sensorimotor stage
- preoperational stage
- concrete operational stage
- formal operational stage
The stages cover a range of ages from birth to 2 years old to young adulthood.
Piaget’s stages are age-specific and marked by important characteristics of thought processes. They also include goals children should achieve as they move through a given stage.
| Sensorimotor | Birth to 18–24 months old | Motor activity without use of symbols. All things learned are based on experiences, or trial and error. | Object permanence |
| Preoperational | 2 to 7 years old | Development of language, memory, and imagination. Intelligence is both egocentric and intuitive. | Symbolic thought |
| Concrete operational | 7 to 11 years old | More logical and methodical manipulation of symbols. Less egocentric, and more aware of the outside world and events. | Operational thought |
| Formal operational | Adolescence to adulthood | Use of symbols to relate to abstract concepts. Able to make hypotheses and grasp abstract concepts and relationships. | Abstract concepts |
The sensorimotor stage covers children ages birth to 18–24 months old. Characteristics include motor activity without use of symbols. All things learned are based on experiences, or trial and error.
The main goal at this stage is establishing an understanding of object permanence — in other words, knowing that an object still exists even if you can’t see it or it’s hidden.
Preoperational
The preoperational stage can be seen in children ages 2 through 7. Memory and imagination are developing. Children at this age are egocentric, which means they have difficulty thinking outside of their own viewpoints.
The main achievement of this stage is being able to attach meaning to objects with language. It’s thinking about things symbolically. Symbolic thought is a type of thinking where a word or object is used to represent something other than itself.
Concrete operational
Children are much less egocentric in the concrete operational stage. It falls between the ages of 7 to 11 years old and is marked by more logical and methodical manipulation of symbols.
The main goal at this stage is for a child to start working things out inside their head. This is called operational thought, and it allows kids to solve problems without physically encountering things in the real world.
Formal operational
Children 11 years old and older fall into Piaget’s formal operational stage. A milestone of this period is using symbols to understand abstract concepts. Not only that, but older kids and adults can also think about multiple variables and come up with hypotheses based on previous knowledge.
Piaget believed that people of all ages developed intellectually. But he also believed that once a person reaches the formal operational stage, it’s more about building upon knowledge, not changing how it’s acquired or understood.
There are a variety of terms Piaget used in his theory to explain cognitive development and how it’s achieved at different stages.
Schema is a term he used to represent the building blocks of knowledge. You may think of schemas as different index cards inside the brain. Each one informs the individual on how to react to new information or situations.
For example, picture a person visiting the grocery store to buy milk. In this event, the schema is a mentally stored pattern of behavior that can be applied to this situation. The person remembers how to go through the aisles, find the milk, select the preferred kind, and then pay at the register. Whenever the person is tasked with getting milk, this particular “script” or schema is recalled from memory.
Other important terms:
- Assimilation is using an existing schema and applying it to a new situation or object.
- Accommodation is changing approaches when an existing schema doesn’t work in a particular situation.
- Equilibration is the driving force that moves all development forward. Piaget didn’t believe that development progressed steadily. Instead, it moved in leaps and bounds according to experiences.
How can caregivers use schemas?
Parents and teachers can help build a child’s various schemas to promote learning and development throughout the stages. This can be achieved by giving children plenty of exposure to the outside world. Being exposed to a variety of learning-by-doing experiences from a young age may help build up those internal index cards. Then, as children get older, it’s about broadening the experiences and applying them to new, even hypothetical, situations.
So, how exactly can Piaget’s stages be applied to education? At the root, it’s about recognizing the stage a child is currently in and catering to that developmental level.
Teachers and parents can help by providing children with different experiences or ways to explore and experiment with their environments. It’s through these experiences that children may gain understandings of different concepts in a hands-on way.
For young children entering preschool and kindergarten, Piaget’s theories align more with play-based school programs, or environments where kids are offered opportunities for trial and error, and interaction with the real world.
Piaget’s philosophy can be incorporated into any education program.
Examples include:
- Providing chances for trial and error. Focus on the process of learning versus the end result.
- Providing children with visual aids and other props, like models, to illustrate different ideas and concepts.
- Using real-life examples to paint complex ideas, like word problems in math.
- Providing chances to classify or group information. Outlines and hierarchies are good examples and allow kids to build new ideas from previous knowledge.
- Offering problems that necessitate analytical or logical thinking. Brain teasers can be used as a tool in this instance.
You can also help your child throughout the stages by catering to their specific learning style at the time:
Sensorimotor
- Use real objects in play activities.
- Connect play to the five senses.
- Implement routines for the youngest children. They are predictable and may be highly useful with developing communication.
Preoperational
- Children learn best by doing. Allow them to actively interact with a variety of things in their environments, including books, people, games, and objects.
- Ask questions while children are engaged in daily routines and allow them to come up with their own ideas.
- Point out new things and encourage children to question you about those things.
Concrete operational
- Create timelines, three dimensional models, science experiments, and other ways to manipulate abstract concepts.
- Use brain teasers and riddles to foster analytical thinking.
- Focus on open-ended questioning.
Formal operational
- Offer step-by-step explanations of concepts and utilize charts and other visual aids.
- Explore hypothetical situations. You may relate them to current events or social issues.
- Broaden concepts whenever possible. For example, if talking about the Civil War, discuss other issues that have divided the country since that time.
There are some criticisms of Piaget’s stages. In particular, researchers in the 1960s and 1970s argued that Piaget may have underestimated children’s abilities by using confusing terms and particularly difficult tasks in his observations. In other studies, children have been successful with demonstrating knowledge of certain concepts or skills when they were presented in a simpler way.
Piaget’s theory also expects children of a certain stage to primarily be at that stage across the board with all tasks presented to them. Other researchers uncovered that there is a range of abilities with cognitive tasks. In other words, some children may excel or struggle in one area over another.
Piaget’s theory also explains that trying to teach children particularly advanced concepts would be unsuccessful. Yet in some cases, children may be able to learn advanced ideas even with brief instruction. Children may be more adaptable and competent than Piaget’s stages give them credit for.
Last, Piaget primarily examined white, middle-class children from developed countries in his work. As a result, his findings may be skewed to this subset of people, and may not apply as directly to other groups or locations.
Lev Vygotsky developed his theory on child development at the same time Piaget was developing his own theory. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children develop through stages. Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky believed that learning and development were tied to social interactions and culture. Whereas Piaget believed that children learn through doing, Vygotsky believed that they learn through being shown.
Maria Montessori shared some ideas with Piaget, including how children move through stages. Their theories are similar until children reach age 3. In school, Montessori classrooms are more child-directed. Piaget classrooms are more teacher-directed with a focus on routine, though there is flexibility and opportunity for child-directed activities.
Jean Piaget’s work has helped people understand how knowledge is developed at different stages of childhood, starting at birth. His philosophy is still used in prekindergarten through 12th grade classrooms today. Understanding the different stages may help you better understand your own child and assist their learning development.
Last medically reviewed on March 27, 2018