sensorimotor
Summary
Sensorimotor is Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, lasting from birth to about age 2, in which infants learn through their senses and motor actions. The most testable point is object permanence, the understanding that objects still exist when out of sight, which develops during this stage.
Detail
Meaning: In Piaget's theory, the sensorimotor stage is the first of four stages of cognitive development, lasting from birth to roughly age 2. Infants learn by coordinating senses with actions such as sucking, grasping, and looking. Behavior moves from simple reflexes, to repeated actions that produce interesting effects (circular reactions), to deliberate experimentation and early mental representation. Object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, develops gradually across the stage. (In neuroscience, sensorimotor can also describe the linking of sensory input to motor output.)
On the MCAT: Passages describe an infant's behavior and ask you to name the stage. A baby who searches under a blanket for a hidden toy shows object permanence, which points to the sensorimotor stage. A baby who loses interest as soon as the toy is covered has not yet developed it. Know the order of the stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational.
Common confusion: Students assume object permanence is present from birth, or they mix up sensorimotor with preoperational. Object permanence is acquired during the sensorimotor stage. The preoperational stage, from about age 2 to 7, is marked by symbolic thought, language, egocentrism, and failure to understand conservation.
Sources
- Psychology (Myers)
- Psychology (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner)
- Discovering Psychology (Hockenbury)
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.