Sensorimotor Stage II: Substages 4 to 6

Piaget’s theory explains cognitive development in stages. Its first stage, the sensorimotor stage, describes how infants move from reflexive behaviors to early symbolic thought.

Substages four to six show progress in symbolic thinking.

Substage 4 is called 'coordination of secondary circular reactions' and spans from 8 to 12 months.

In this substage, infants show means–end behavior—the ability to keep a goal in mind, such as reaching a toy, and plan actions to achieve it, like moving another toy aside.

Substage 5 is known as 'tertiary circular reactions', which spans from 12 to 18 months.

At this stage, children use trial and error to experiment with different behaviors, such as squeezing or throwing a rubber duck, to find the most effective way to make the duck squeak.

Substage 6 is called ‘mental representations’ and spans from 18 to 24 months.

In this substage, children develop the ability to form mental symbols, such as words or images, to represent objects and actions.

Instead of using trial and error, they may imagine the outcome of dropping food without actually doing it.