Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-25-2025

Keywords

abstract thought, action-perception loops, children, cognition, cognitive development, coherent structures, hidden events (object permanence), infancy, Jean Piaget, linear trajectory, mental organizations, mistakes (developmental errors), primary sense, qualitative distinct stages, reflexes, schemas, sensorimotor period, sensorimotor substages, symbolic thought

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

The developing mind does not merely follow a linear trajectory—say from knowing little to knowing more. Instead, the mind appears to actively organize information into coherent structures. According to Jean Piaget, these mental organizations – referred to as schemas – go through qualitatively distinct stages, the first of which is the sensorimotor period. Cognition at this stage is characterized by a reliance on reflexes and primary sense, rather than on symbolic or abstract thought. The argument is that children younger than 2 years base their cognition on immediate actions-perception loops, making distinctive mistakes when the task requires an ability to represent hidden events. In what follows, we provide a brief overview of the sensorimotor substages, after which we discuss how the claims of a sensorimotor period have affected the field of cognitive development.

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