➡️ Video Lesson
➡️ Introduction
According to Piaget, the sensorimotor stage of development is a child’s first stage of development. This stage lasts from birth to 2 years old.
The newborn does not have a well-developed brain, particularly in the frontal cortex. Therefore, the child must develop an understanding of the world through the 5 senses.
Things that occur during the sensorimotor stage include the grasp reflex, the suckling reflex, prehension, circular reaction, and visual assimilation. See more examples below.
Sensorimotor Stage Examples
1. Reflexes (eg Suckling, Grasping and Rooting Reflexes)
Newborns exhibit reflex actions such as sucking (the famous suckling reflex), grasping, and rooting.
These are automatic responses we’re born with.
For example, when a baby’s cheek is stroked, they will turn their head toward the touch and begin sucking. These reflexes are crucial for survival and form the foundation for more complex behaviors.
In his notes on a child named Laurent Piaget writes:
“Laurent is lying on his back with his mouth open, his lips and tongue moving slightly in imitation of the mechanism of sucking, and his head moving from left to right and back again, as though seeking an object. These gestures are either silent or interrupted by grunts with an expression of impatience and of hunger” (Piaget, 1936, p. 26).
2. Object Permanence
Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. This skill develops between 4-7 months of age.
For object permanence, a child may initially not look for a toy hidden under a blanket because they think it has vanished. As they develop object permanence, they begin to look for the toy, indicating they understand it still exists even when out of sight. They may also enjoy peek-a-boo and hide and seek.
3. Primary Circular Reactions
Primary circular reactions are the repetitive actions babies do while discovering their bodies, usually occurring between 1 and 4 months.
For example, a baby might accidentally suck their thumb and find it pleasurable, so they repeat the action. These reactions help the baby learn about their own body and control over it.
The key development is that the reflex is now associated with intent. The child discovers an action accidentally, then repeats it after considering it pleasurable. Hence the term “circular”.
4. Secondary Circular Reactions
Occurring between 4 and 8 months, these involve repeated actions that produce effects in the external environment. For example, a baby might shake a rattle repeatedly because they enjoy the sound it makes.
This behavior indicates the baby’s growing ability to engage with the world around them and understand cause-and-effect relationships.
By repeating actions that lead to interesting outcomes, babies learn that they can influence their surroundings, a crucial step in cognitive development.
5. Coordination of Secondary Schemes
Between 8 and 12 months, babies begin to coordinate different actions to achieve a specific goal.
For instance, a baby might push one toy out of the way to reach another toy that is partially hidden.
This shows an emerging understanding of intentionality and problem-solving, as the baby plans and executes a series of actions to get what they want.
6. Tertiary Circular Reactions
From 12 to 18 months, babies start to experiment with new actions to see different outcomes. They might drop a ball from various heights to observe how it bounces or throw different objects to see how each falls.
This experimentation shows a curiosity about the world and an understanding that different actions can produce different results.
Through these activities, babies learn about the properties of objects and the consequences of their actions, furthering their cognitive development.
7. Mental Representation
Around 18 to 24 months, children begin to develop the ability to hold mental images of objects and events.
This is evident when a child pretends to feed a doll or uses a block as a phone. These actions show that the child can use symbols and engage in pretend play, demonstrating an important cognitive leap.
The ability to create mental representations allows children to think about objects and events that are not immediately present, which is crucial for the development of language and more complex thought processes.
8. Deferred Imitation
This occurs when a child can imitate an action they observed earlier, even if the original action is not currently happening.
For example, a child might see their parent talking on the phone and later pick up a toy phone and mimic the conversation.
Deferred imitation indicates that the child can store and recall information, an essential aspect of memory development. This ability to remember and replicate observed behaviors plays a significant role in learning and social development.
9. Problem-Solving through Trial and Error
During the sensorimotor stage, children learn by trying different solutions until they find one that works.
For instance, a baby might try to fit different shapes into a shape sorter, learning which shapes go where through repeated attempts.
This trial-and-error approach helps children develop persistence, fine motor skills, and a better understanding of spatial relationships. As they experiment and refine their techniques, they gain confidence in their ability to solve problems.
10. Self-Recognition
By the end of the sensorimotor stage, around 18 to 24 months, children begin to recognize themselves in a mirror.
This self-recognition is demonstrated by behaviors such as touching a mark on their face after seeing their reflection. This milestone indicates the development of self-awareness and the understanding that they are separate individuals from others.
Recognizing themselves in the mirror is a significant cognitive achievement, as it shows the child’s growing ability to form an internal representation of themselves.
➡️ About Piaget’s Stages
Piaget’s Stages
| Stage | Age Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sensorimotor | 0-2 years | Child develops object permanence (realizing that objects out of sight still exist), goal-directed action (learning to act intentionally to achieve a goal), and deferred imitation (continuing to imitate others after the event). |
| Preoperational stage | 2-7 years | Child develops symbolic thought (using language and signs to represent their thoughts) but remains egocentric. |
| Concrete operational stage | 7-12 years | Child develops logical thought and conservation (discovers that changes in appearance do not correspond with changes in weight, volume, etc.) |
| Formal operational stage | 12-18 yeras | Adolescent develops inductive and deductive reasoning. They can use abstract thought and general principles to develop increasingly complex hypotheses. |
➡️ The Sensorimotor Substages Explained
Sensorimotor Stage Sub-Stages
As the brain matures and neurons develop, so do the child’s abilities. This can be seen in the progression of 6 substages within the sensorimotor stage.
1. Basic Reflexes (0-1 month):
During the first month, the newborn will display several basic reflexes such as sucking and looking at visually captivating images. They will display reflexes in other forms such as crying in response to biological needs that require satisfying and other vocalizations such as babbling.
2. Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months):
Now the newborn will engage in purposively pleasurable behavior such as sucking their thumb. A baby’s arms and legs will continue to move about in an uncontrolled fashion as neural connections are being formed from the brain to different muscle groups.
They will also orient towards auditory or visual stimuli as their ability to control their eye movements and head continue to develop. In this sense, reflexes become more controlled and purposeful.
3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months):
The child begins to become more focused on their surroundings and enjoys exploring. This exploration will create unexpected outcomes, which the baby then repeats because it is interesting.
Previously explored connections will also be repeated. For example, a baby will shake a rattle, pause, and then shake it again because it finds the noise stimulating and enjoys creating responses in the environment.
4. Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions (8-12 months):
The baby’s behavior becomes more intentional. For example, they will purposely reach for desired objects or move an object out of their way to reach a desired toy.
As the prefrontal cortex continues to develop, the baby will demonstrate goal-oriented behavior such as pointing (in the later weeks of this stage). The child’s actions and ability to control their body are becoming more coordinated with their senses.
Object permanence also emerges during this stage. This is the ability of the child to understand that an object sill exists even though it can no longer be seen.
5. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months):
Experimentation is the hallmark of this stage. The child begins more purposeful experimentation with cause-and-effect relations.
Babies at this age enjoy repeating sequences of actions that create an expected outcome. For example, stacking blocks or rings; taking objects apart and putting them back together.
In addition, the baby also now conducts experimentation to identify novelty. The child no longer simply repeats secondary circular reactions for the sake of repetition, but now purposely initiates variation to discover differences in the outcome.
6. Representational Thought (18-24 months):
This final stage of sensorimotor development marks the beginning of the child being able to form a mental representation of objects.
In previous stages, understanding was bound by physical actions and sensory stimulation. However, in this final stage, we see that the external world is being represented through cognitive constructs.
Conclusion
Piaget developed an incredibly insightful theory of cognitive development. His methodology involved direct observation of babies and toddlers which included a little bit of trial and error and a lot of intuitive insight.
His theory identifies the stages that all humans go through, from fundamental sucking and grasping reflexes to eventually using objects in novel ways as a means to an end; all by the age of two years old.
The best way to understand the Piagetian perspective is go directly to the source. His book, The Origins of Intelligence in Children, gives the reader a first-hand account of how he developed one of psychology’s most influential theories.
➡️ References and Further Reading
Bibace R. (2013). Challenges in Piaget’s legacy. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 47(1), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-012-9208-9
Beilin, H., & Fireman, G. (1999). The foundation of Piaget’s theories: Mental and physical action. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 27, 221–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2407(08)60140-8
Göncü, A., & Gaskins, S. (2012). Comparing and extending Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s understandings of play: Symbolic play as individual, sociocultural, and educational interpretation. In P. E. Natahn & A. D. Pellegrini (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play (pp. 48-57). Oxford University Press. https://oi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195393002.013.0005
Müller, U., & Liben, L. S. (2015). The development of executive function. In R. M. Lerner, L. S. Liben, U. Mueller, R. M. Lerner, L. S. Liben & U. Mueller (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, Cognitive Processes (pp. 571-613). Somerset, England: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Rousseau, P. V., Matton, F., Lecuyer, R., & Lahaye, W. (2017). The Moro reaction: More than a reflex, a ritualized behavior of nonverbal communication. Infant Behavior and Development, 46, 169-177.
Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.
This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.