Jean Piaget (1936)
Suggests that a child’s language acquisition is part of their wider development – language comes with
understanding
A child cannot linguistically articulate concepts before using comparatives that they do not understand
Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
The child is egocentric
Child begins to interact with environment using
senses and movement
An understanding of object permanence
appears
In the sensorimotor stage, we develop through
experiences and movement. Their brain wants to hear,
see, smell, taste and touch as much as possible.
They start with simple reflexes and soon after, they develop their first habits. An understanding of object
permanence appears.
e.g. a parent can show a teddy bear, then hide it and the child would think it's gone. However, they then realise that
objects can continue to exist even when they can’t see them. As shown in the image, children become curious about
everything. They'd want to smell flowers, taste food etc. To explore more, they move, sit, crawl and walk. This leads
to increased cognitive development but they remain egocentric, meaning they do not have the mindset to
understand views and opinions.
Pre-operational Stage (2-7 years)
Child remains egocentric
Child learns to speak and uses imagination
They can represent the world through play
Children have many fantasies at this stage and believe
that objects are alive.
As they are not able to apply specific cognitive
operations, this stage is known as pre-operational.
They learn to speak and understand that words, images and gestures are symbols for something else.
e.g. when children draw their families, they do not draw it accurately but rather with their symbolic meanings.
Playing 'pretend' allows children to experience and learn something new. Around age 4, children become curious
and ask many questions and Piaget classes it as the ‘intuitive age’. Children remain egocentric, thinking that others
see the world like they do.
Suggests that a child’s language acquisition is part of their wider development – language comes with
understanding
A child cannot linguistically articulate concepts before using comparatives that they do not understand
Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
The child is egocentric
Child begins to interact with environment using
senses and movement
An understanding of object permanence
appears
In the sensorimotor stage, we develop through
experiences and movement. Their brain wants to hear,
see, smell, taste and touch as much as possible.
They start with simple reflexes and soon after, they develop their first habits. An understanding of object
permanence appears.
e.g. a parent can show a teddy bear, then hide it and the child would think it's gone. However, they then realise that
objects can continue to exist even when they can’t see them. As shown in the image, children become curious about
everything. They'd want to smell flowers, taste food etc. To explore more, they move, sit, crawl and walk. This leads
to increased cognitive development but they remain egocentric, meaning they do not have the mindset to
understand views and opinions.
Pre-operational Stage (2-7 years)
Child remains egocentric
Child learns to speak and uses imagination
They can represent the world through play
Children have many fantasies at this stage and believe
that objects are alive.
As they are not able to apply specific cognitive
operations, this stage is known as pre-operational.
They learn to speak and understand that words, images and gestures are symbols for something else.
e.g. when children draw their families, they do not draw it accurately but rather with their symbolic meanings.
Playing 'pretend' allows children to experience and learn something new. Around age 4, children become curious
and ask many questions and Piaget classes it as the ‘intuitive age’. Children remain egocentric, thinking that others
see the world like they do.
