Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse Practice Exam

Which cognitive developmental stage, according to Piaget, occurs between ages 7 to 11?

1. Formal operations

2. Concrete operations

3. Preoperational

4. Sensorimotor

The correct answer is: Concrete operations

The cognitive developmental stage that occurs between ages 7 to 11 is the Concrete Operations stage, as proposed by Jean Piaget. During this period, children develop the ability to think logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation, which means they can recognize that quantity does not change even when its shape does. This stage is characterized by thinking that is more organized and the ability to classify objects, perform mathematical operations, and understand relationships between different concepts. Children in the Concrete Operations stage can engage in more complex thinking than they could in earlier stages, such as the Preoperational stage, where their thinking is predominantly intuitive and egocentric. Unlike the Formal Operations stage, which begins around age 12 and involves abstract and hypothetical reasoning, Concrete Operations is still grounded in tangible, practical experiences, making it a crucial transition in cognitive development.