A child's mind develops in four distinct stages.
A child's brain changes rapidly throughout his life and does not reach full development until late adolescence or early adulthood. There are four stages of brain development, which were identified by Jean Piaget, one of the most influential developmental-psychology researchers of the 20th century. As a child progresses through the different stages of brain development, she acquires new skills and more complex forms of understanding.
Sensori-motor Stage (Birth-2 years)
A child in this stage begins to understand cause and effect.
During this stage a child's knowledge of the world is limited because it is based on physical interaction with the environment. Children first learn to differentiate themselves from other objects. They then recognize that they are able to cause actions and act intentionally, such as shaking a rattle to cause a noise or pushing a button to cause music to play. At around seven months of age, a child will understand object permanence, meaning he understands objects still exist even when he is not observing them.
Pre-operational Stage (2-7 years)
The pre-operations stage is marked by egocentric thought.
In this stage, a child learns to use language, memory and imagination and is able to classify objects by one characteristic. The child's thinking at this stage is illogical, non-reversible and egocentric. Egocentric thought means the child believes she is the center of the universe, has difficulty understanding others' points of view and lacks empathy.
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
Children in the concrete operational stage begin to think logically.
Children in this stage of development will be able to understand and have conversations about concepts like quantity, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, and volume. The child can think logically, classify objects by different characteristics and order the objects in a series. For example, a child will be able to order objects from smallest to largest. This stage also marks the reduction of egocentric thought.
Formal Operational (11 years and up)
Many teenages do not obtain formal operations.
The beginning of this stage is marked by the return of egocentric thought. Intelligence is shown through logical thought associated with abstract concepts. A person in this stage is concerned about the future, as well as hypothetical and ideological problems. The skills in this stage are the hardest to acquire. Only 35 percent of high school graduates achieve this stage and many people do not think formally even in adulthood.
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