During Piaget's sensorimotor stage, which substage occurs last?

During Piaget's sensorimotor stage, which substage occurs last?

• A. Primary Circular Reactions
• B. Tertiary Circular Reactions
• C. Secondary Circular Reactions
• D. Coordination of Reactions

Answer: (B)

In Piaget’s sensorimotor development, infants move from reflexive actions to purposeful exploration of objects. The last substage within this period is tertiary circular reactions, where the child deliberately varies actions to discover new effects and outcomes through trial and error. This marks a shift from repeating actions that produce familiar results to experimenting with different ways to use objects, such as trying several ways to shake, squeeze, or drop a toy to see what happens. Earlier substages—coordination of reactions, secondary circular reactions, and primary circular reactions—focus more on goal-directed behaviors, novelty within a body or around objects, and repeating familiar patterns, respectively. The tertiary circular reactions substage paves the way for more complex thinking and eventually symbolic thought in the next stage.

In Piaget’s sensorimotor development, infants move from reflexive actions to purposeful exploration of objects. The last substage within this period is tertiary circular reactions, where the child deliberately varies actions to discover new effects and outcomes through trial and error. This marks a shift from repeating actions that produce familiar results to experimenting with different ways to use objects, such as trying several ways to shake, squeeze, or drop a toy to see what happens. Earlier substages—coordination of reactions, secondary circular reactions, and primary circular reactions—focus more on goal-directed behaviors, novelty within a body or around objects, and repeating familiar patterns, respectively. The tertiary circular reactions substage paves the way for more complex thinking and eventually symbolic thought in the next stage.