Sensorimotor Stage

The sensorimotor stage of development occurs from birth to about two years according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. At birth, infants are born with every sense functioning. Therefore, they are able to open there eyes to see, ear can hear, noses can smell, tongues taste and skin can feel. However, these five senses are needed for sensation to occur. Sensation occurs when a sensory system detects a stimulus, as when the inner ear reverberates with sound or the retina and pupil of the eye intercept light (Berger, 2014, p. 101). Perception occurs when the brain processes a sensation and the brain interprets the sensation (Berger, 2014, p. 101). As infant develop particular sensation or stimulus occurs often it connects with past experience perception follows and cognition follows perception. In infants the senses allows perception to develop and further social understanding of their surroundings.
In the first 4 months in an infant life, the sense of hearing and seeing allow the infant to hear the voices and see faces of their caregiver. Perception takes place and social bonding and language starts to develop. Other senses like tasting and smelling allows the infant to develop a taste and smells of what the …show more content…
103). Motor skills starts in infants as reflexes that becomes skills if they are practiced and encouraged. Infants are born with a sucking reflex, rooting reflex, moro reflex and grasping reflex. These reflexes becomes skills that is need in the development of gross motor skills. Gross motor skills is the physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping (Berger, 2014, p. 103). Gross motor skill development starts from infancy with reflex to development of posture, crawling and to learning to walk. It continue into childhood as walking, running, jumping, and climbing