2E - Characteristics of 4 Stages

Question 1

How is Sensorimotor Characterised?

Answer 1

• Object Permanence: Knowing things exist even when not seen or heard.
• Goal-Directed Behavior: To perform and successfully complete a sequence of actions with a particular purpose in mind.

Question 2

Pre-operational: What Characteristics are gained?

Answer 2

• Symbolic thinking: the ability to use symbols such as words and pictures to represent objects that are not physically present. (E.g., Pretend play.)
• Transformation: understanding that something can change from one state to another.
• Reversibility: the ability to follow a sequence of events back to its starting point.

Question 3

Pre-operational: What are the Characteristics children Struggle with?

Answer 3

• Egocentrism: the tendency to perceive the world solely from one’s own point of view.
• Animism: the belief that everything which exists has some kind of consciousness.
• Centration: can focus on only one quality or feature of an object or event at a time.

Question 4

How is Concrete Operational Characterised?

Answer 4

• Conservation: Knowing that some things (like volume, mass, number, and length) stay the same even if they look different.
• Classification: Sorting objects or events into groups based on shared features.

Question 5

How is Formal Operational Characterised?

Answer 5

• Abstract thinking: Understanding things without needing to see, visualize, experience, or physically interact with them.
• Idealistic thinking: Imagining a perfect or better version of people, events, or issues at any level (local, national, or global).