Michaela Pybus
Unit 4: Development Through the Life Stages
P1: Describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual.
P1 Intellectual
Sensorimotor stage: Birth to 1 1/2 or 2 years is a stage in life where babies are learning to use their senses and muscles in the body, and thinking without a form of lanuage. When babies are born they have the ability to sense certain objects such as a drinking bottle. Babies are also born with a range of reflexes such as a sucking reflex to enable them to feed and also another reflex is squeezing with their fingers in able to hold objects such as toys. These reflexes are used by their muscles which are called 'motor actions'. The next stage is called a sensorimotor stage where thinking is limited to sensing objects around them and performing 'motor actions'. Babies do not have a working system such as remembering and thinking about things until they reach around 18 months old.
Pre-Operational stage: 2-7 years is a stage in life where children are learning to use their pre-logical thinking, by thinking in language but not being able to understand the logic in things. Children can use words in order to communicate but cannot understand the logical implications that are involved in language. Pre-operational children aren't able to understand things such as numbers, mass and volume although they may be able to count to the number 10 but might not understand what those numbers mean. For example a child may see 10 numbers but may tell you there are more than 10 numbers because of the mass.
Concrete Operational Stage: 7-11 years is a stage in life where