Topic > The stages of Piaget's theory of cognitive development

As time passes, the child refines his movements with external stimuli. Furthermore, if someone has been with a child, they will quickly learn as the child will gain the knowledge that if they repeat a particular action it is rewarded, the more likely the action will be repeated. During this stage, the child maintains the concept that the object of his or her attention no longer exists once it leaves the child's line of sight or sound. After the child matures into this stage, he or she realizes that the object of attention once again exists beyond the child's line of sight. They will begin to understand how the object that caught their attention is not only still there, but the child will be able to stay away from the object for a longer period. (DeWolfe, 2015) The second phase was called the preoperative phase. From ages 2 to 7, the child's mind increases substantially towards the development of the mental construction of familiar and regular objects with which he interacts frequently. The concepts of such objects are only superficial, which means that the child has yet to understand the complexity of these objects. Furthermore, the child may automatically assume how his environment (i.e., those around him) share his likes and dislikes. (DeWolfe,