Piaget Cognitive Development Stages Quiz

Five-year-old Tammy mistakenly believes that her short, wide glass contains less soda than her brother’s tall, narrow glass. Actually, both glasses contain the same amount of soda.

• Sensorimotor – Object permanence

• Preoperational – Lacks conservation (due to centration)

• Concrete Operational – Reversibility

• Formal Operational – Hypothesis testing

Lisa does not attempt to retrieve her bottle after her father hides it under a blanket believing it is gone.

• Sensorimotor – Lacks object permanence

• Preoperational – Egocentrism

• Concrete Operational – Conservation

• Formal Operational – Abstract thinking

Betsy believes that grass grows out of the ground in order to cushion her if she falls when she is playing outside.

• Sensorimotor – Artificialism

• Preoperational – Egocentrism

• Concrete Operational – Humor

• Formal Operational – Systematic reasoning

Dimitri is only able to focus on one aspect of a problem which makes it impossible for him at this age to master conservation tasks.

• Sensorimotor – Centration

• Preoperational – Centration

• Concrete Operational – Reversibility

• Formal Operational – Hypothesis testing

Tom’s older sister is playing a game with him. She hides the ball that they are playing with behind her back, and Tom quickly loses interest in the game. He makes no attempt to look for the ball, but instead picks up another toy that is close by.

• Sensorimotor – Lacks object permanence

• Preoperational – Pretend play

• Concrete Operational – Conservation

• Formal Operational – Abstract thought

Bob is asked, “Do you have a brother?” He replies, “Yes, his name is Joe.” Next Bob is asked, “Does Joe have a brother?” Bob answers, “No.”

• Sensorimotor – Lack of classification

• Preoperational – Egocentrism and Irreversibility

• Concrete Operational – Conservation

• Formal Operational – Hypothetical reasoning

When Matthew saw his older brother’s bicycle fall off of its kick stand, Matthew told his brother that the bicycle must be tired and is now taking a nap.

• Sensorimotor – Artificialism

• Preoperational – Animism

• Concrete Operational – Humor

• Formal Operational – Abstract

Mrs. Pearson cut Judy’s hot dog into eight pieces and Sylvia’s into six pieces. Sylvia does not get upset because she correctly realizes that even though it looks like Judy got a larger portion, they are both eating the same amount of food.

• Sensorimotor – Reversibility

• Preoperational – Centration

• Concrete Operational – Conservation ability

• Formal Operational – Reflective thought

Gerard watched as a researcher placed five toy station wagons and three toy convertibles on a table. The research asked him if there were more station wagons or more cars, and Gerard correctly answered that there were more cars.

• Sensorimotor – Object permanence

• Preoperational – Lack of classification

• Concrete Operational – Hierarchical classification ability

• Formal Operational – Systematic reasoning

Gretchen assumes that the car is moving because she is inside of it.

• Sensorimotor – Object permanence

• Preoperational – Egocentrism

• Concrete Operational – Reversibility

• Formal Operational – Abstract thought