Piaget has described four stages of cognitive development. Which one of the following is an accurate statement about Piaget's view of these stages?
A) With each successive stage, schemata become more simplified.
B) It is possible for children to skip from the pre operational state to the formal operational stage, but only a small minority of children actually do so.
C) Children have difficulty solving problems until they reach formal operations.
D) Each stage involves forms of thought qualitatively different from those of other stages.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that each of the four stages of cognitive development represents a qualitatively different form of thinking. For example, in the preoperational stage, children are unable to perform operations, which means that they cannot mentally transform or manipulate objects. In the concrete operational stage, children become capable of performing these types of mental operations. In the formal operational stage, adolescents become capable of thinking abstractly and hypothetically. Therefore, Piaget believed that each stage of development is characterized by a different type of thinking that is not simply an extension of the previous stage.

Piaget Has Described Four Stages of Cognitive Development