Piaget’s sensorimotor stage is a cognitive development stage featured by the multifaceted harmonization of sensual experience with the motor action. During the infancy stage, children advance from reflexes events response to goal-oriented behavior. The sensorimotor stage can be classified into various sub stages such as the simple reflexes stage, primary circular reactions stage, secondary circular reaction stage, and coordination of secondary schemes stage, tertiary circulation reaction stage and the invention of new means through mental combination stage (Rathus et al. 88).

The sensorimotor stage explains how children develop from a simple to an advanced stage where they can understand and solve specific problems through speaking and responding. The sensorimotor stage begins from the time of birth and ends when the child is two years old. The first sensorimotor stage is the reflex stage, which is characterized by the child’s ability to respond to stimulus, and learn about their environment. The child’s response to stimulus serves as the basic foundation where they learn to grasp, cry, laugh and stand (E. Portillo 1).

Simple reflexes are the first substage of the sensorimotor stage which occurs during the first month of birth and is characterized by domination and assimilation of the stimulus like visual tracking and grasping. During the simple reflexes substage, the infant begins to adapt patterns of sucking to the shape of the nipple. Primary circular reactions are the second sensorimotor substage, which focuses on the infant’s own body, and lasts for four months from the time of birth. The stage is featured by the development of the child’s capacity to direct several sensorimotor structures. During this stage, an infant can repeat stimulating actions such as lifting their arms continuously or by chance, for viewing (Rathus et al. 88).

The secondary circular reactions stage is the third sensorimotor substage, which occurs on infants within four to eight months. During this substage, infants repeat activity patterns due to their effect on the environment and focus more on environmental events and object. At this stage, the child learns through pulling or shaking rattling items which they find interesting, before moving to the fourth stage of coordination of secondary schemes (Rathus et al. 88) E. Portillo indicates that the child attempts to such their thumb, by bringing it closer to their mouths (E. Portillo 1).

Management of secondary systems is the fourth substage of sensorimotor and persists within 8 to 12 months, where children begin to show intentional goal-oriented behavior by distinguishing a goal, and the means to accomplish a specific goal. The child may start lifting specific items like opening the dish, to reach some food which has been served inside. The coordination of secondary schemes stage indicates that the child has gained the knowledge of imitating actions such as facial expressions, and specific sounds, before proceeding to the tertiary circular reactions stage (Rathus et al. 88). Moreover, Berk claims that the child may start showing response such as smiling, after making eye contact with their parents, therefore indicating that there is learning progress (Berk 36).

The tertiary circular reactions stage occurs within twelve to eighteen months of age, and it is featured by the infant’s engagement on purposeful adaptations of established schemes to specific situations. In the tertiary circular reaction stage, the child’s character takes the form of experiments, trials, and errors (Rathus et al. 88).

Response to My peer Post

I agree with my colleague’s post on Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. For instance, the post starts with an excellent introduction which provides the background of theorist, Piaget. Further, the introduction describes how the cognitive development of a child can be divided into four stages depending on what a child does in each stage. Moreover, the writer tries to make the connection between the environment and ability of the child to react to it on the mental development of the baby.

In the body, the post conclusively states and describes the kind of growth that takes place in each developmental stage.  For instance, the author starts by stating the Reflex stage of development as it occurs between births to 2 months (Berk 38). During the stage, the child lays the foundation for what will happen in the late stages of life. All other three sub-stages are also detailed discussed by providing what happens and what the child can do in each stage. The author concludes by trying to link provide the link between the full development of the four sub-stages and what the child becomes later in life. By so doing, the author succeeds to show the objective longevity on how the child endures to exist.

Works Cited

Berk, Laura E. Exploring Lifespan Development, Fourth Edition. 2018. Pearson

1. Portillo, John Busby, Larry Toothaker, and E.J. Doyle, PSY2012

Rathus, Spencera et al., (2018). HDEV.