The Concrete Operational Stage
Piaget’s third stage is the concrete operational stage.
concrete operational stage
The concrete operational stage is from about 7 to 11 years old. In this stage, children can think logically about real (concrete) events; they have a firm grasp on the use of numbers and start to employ memory strategies. They can perform mathematical operations and understand transformations, such as addition is the opposite of subtraction, and multiplication is the opposite of division.
In this stage, children can think logically about real (concrete) events; they have a firm grasp on the use of numbers and start to employ memory strategies. They can perform mathematical operations and understand transformations, such as addition is the opposite of subtraction, and multiplication is the opposite of division.
Key Achievements
- Conservation: In this stage, children master the concept of conservation—the understanding that even if something changes shape, its mass, volume, and number stay the same.
- Example: If you pour water from a tall, thin glass to a short, fat glass, you still have the same amount of water. Remember Keiko and Kenny and the pizza? Keiko understood conservation, so she knew that Kenny was wrong when he said he had more pizza just because his slice was cut into more pieces.
- Reversibility: Children in the concrete operational stage understand the principle of reversibility, which means that objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form or condition.
- Example: Water that you poured into the short, fat glass can be poured back into the thin glass and you still have the same amount (minus a couple of drops).
- Decentration allows children to consider multiple aspects of a situation simultaneously, rather than focusing on only one dimension (such as only the height of the glass). This enables them to understand that while a glass may be taller, it’s also narrower, so the amount of water remains the same.
- Classification: Children can organize objects into hierarchical categories and understand relationships between categories.
- Example: Understanding that all dogs are animals, but not all animals are dogs. They can group objects by shared features (color, size, shape) and use multiple criteria simultaneously, recognizing that categories can exist within other categories.
- Seriation: Children can arrange objects in order according to size, shape, or other characteristics (e.g., organizing sticks from shortest to tallest).
Limitations
While children in this stage can think logically about concrete, physical objects and events, they still struggle with abstract or hypothetical concepts. They can solve problems involving real, tangible things but have difficulty with “what if” scenarios or purely abstract reasoning.
Children in the concrete operational stage also understand the principle of reversibility, which means that objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form or condition. Take, for example, water that you poured into the short, fat glass: You can pour water from the fat glass back to the thin glass and still have the same amount (minus a couple of drops).
The Formal Operational Stage
The fourth stage in Piaget’s theory is the formal operational stage, which is from about age 11 to adulthood.
formal operational stage
The formal operational stage of development is the final stage of Piaget’s in which people can deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations.
Characteristics of Formal Operational Thought
- Abstract Thinking: Children in this stage can use abstract thinking to problem-solve, look at alternative solutions, and test these solutions. They can think about concepts without concrete examples—ideas like justice, freedom, and love become comprehensible.
- Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning: Adolescents can form hypotheses and systematically test them to draw conclusions. They can reason about “what if” scenarios and consider multiple possibilities before acting.
- Metacognition: The ability to think about thinking itself emerges. Adolescents can reflect on their own thought processes, evaluate their reasoning, and consider alternative strategies for problem-solving.
- Adolescent Egocentrism: In adolescence, a renewed egocentrism occurs, though different from the egocentrism of early childhood.
Beyond Formal Operational Thought
As with other major contributors of theories of development, several of Piaget’s ideas have come under criticism based on the results of further research. For example, several contemporary studies support a model of development that is more continuous than Piaget’s discrete stages (Courage & Howe, 2002; Siegler, 2005, 2006). Many others suggest that children reach cognitive milestones earlier than Piaget describes (Baillargeon, 2004; de Hevia & Spelke, 2010).
According to Piaget, the highest level of cognitive development is formal operational thought, which develops between 11 and 20 years old.
However, many developmental psychologists disagree with Piaget, suggesting a fifth stage of cognitive development, known as the postformal stage (Basseches, 1984; Commons & Bresette, 2006; Sinnott, 1998).
In postformal thinking, decisions are made based on situations and circumstances, and logic is integrated with emotion as adults develop principles that depend on contexts. As we attempt to solve problems in adulthood, we tend to think more deeply about many areas of our lives, such as relationships, work, and politics (Labouvie-Vief & Diehl, 1999). Postformal thinkers draw on past experiences to help them solve new problems, and their problem-solving strategies vary depending on the situation.
For example, adults can recognize that what seems to be an ideal solution to a problem at work involving a disagreement with a colleague may not be the best solution to a disagreement with a significant other. This flexibility and context-dependent reasoning represents a qualitative shift from the more rigid logical structures of formal operations.
Neuroconstructivism and Cognitive Development
While Piaget’s stage theory provides a useful framework for understanding cognitive development, contemporary researchers recognize that development emerges from complex interactions between brain, behavior, and environment.
The neuroconstructivist perspective suggests that neural brain development and cognitive development mutually influence each other. Experiences that a child encounters can impact or change the way that neural pathways develop in response to the environment (Westermann, Mareschal, Johnson, Sirois, Spratling, & Thomas, 2007).
An individual’s behavior is based on how one understands the world, and there is constant interaction between neural and cognitive networks at multiple levels:
- genes
- neurons
- brain
- body
- social environment
These interactions shape mental representations in the brain and are dependent on the context that individuals actively explore throughout their lifetimes. Rather than development following predetermined stages, neuroconstructivism emphasizes that cognitive abilities emerge through bidirectional influences between biology and experience.
For example, consider a child who may be genetically predisposed to a difficult temperament. If they have parents who provide a social environment in which they are encouraged to express themselves in an optimal manner, the child’s brain forms neural connections enhanced by that environment. The brain then gives information to the body about how it will experience the environment. Thus, neural and cognitive networks work together to influence genes (attenuating temperament), body (reducing proneness to high blood pressure), and social environment (seeking people who are similar to them).
This perspective helps us understand that cognitive development—from the concrete operational thinking of middle childhood through the postformal reasoning of adulthood—is not simply a matter of moving through fixed stages, but rather an ongoing process of adaptation shaped by the dynamic interplay between our developing brains and the environments we navigate.