FTCE Professional Education Practice Exam

What developmental stage in Piaget's theory includes the understanding of cause and effect relationships?

1. Concrete Operational

2. Sensorimotor

3. Formal Operational

4. Preoperational

The correct answer is: Sensorimotor

The correct answer is that the understanding of cause and effect relationships occurs in the Concrete Operational stage of Piaget's theory. In this stage, which typically spans ages 7 to 11, children begin to think logically about concrete events. They develop the ability to perform operations mentally rather than purely symbolically. This means they can understand how different objects or events are related, recognize that certain actions can cause specific reactions, and consider the perspective of others. During the Concrete Operational stage, children become less egocentric, enabling them to see the effect of their actions on others and their environment. They can grasp concepts such as conservation, which shows they understand that quantities remain the same despite changes in shape or appearance, further demonstrating their grasp of cause-and-effect relationships. In contrast, the Sensorimotor stage, which occurs from birth to about 2 years, centers around infants learning through physical interaction with their environment, primarily through sensory experiences and motor actions, without the ability to think abstractly or reason about cause and effect. The Preoperational stage, from about 2 to 7 years, is marked by symbolic thinking and egocentrism but lacks logical reasoning and understanding of conservation and cause and effect. The Formal Operational stage, beginning around