(birth to 2 years)

Infants respond to immediate stimuli- what they hear, see, taste, touch, and smell- and learning takes place through the senses.

Reflex activity (birth to 1 month)

Primary circular reactions (1 to 4 months) 

Secondary Circular Reactions (4 to 8 months)

Coordination of secondary circularcular reactions (8 to 12 months).

Tertiary circular reactions (12 to 19 months)

Mental representations (18 months to 2 years)

(birth to 1 month)

Reflex activity

Because reflexes are what the infant can "do,"they become the foundation of future learning. Reflexes are what the infants build on.

(1 to 4 months)

Primary circular reactions

During this stage, infants repeat behaviors that bring them a positive response and pleasure. The infant's body is the primary focus of the response..

(4 to 8 months)

Secondary Circular Reactions

The focus remains on performing acts and behaviors that bring about a response. In this stage, the infant reacts to responses from the environment.

(8 to 12 months)

Coordination of secondary circular reactions

The mastery of object permanence is a significant task during this stage. At 9 mos. of age, infants develop the ability to understand that an object or person exists when they don't see it. Related to the rapid development of memeory abilities. Stranger anxiety, in which the infant reacts with fear to unfamiliar persons.Seperation anxiety also becomes prominent in this period. The infant is able to remember previous seperations and becomes anxious.

(12 to 18 months)

Tertiary circular reactions

Toddlers become more creative in eliciting responses and are better problem solvers.

(18 months to 2 years)

Mental representation

Toddlers in this stage are able to use thinking skillsin that they maintain mental images of what is not immediatelyin front of them. Toddlers can also rember and imitate observed behavior.

Substage 1: Preconceptual (ages 2 to 3)

Substage 2: Intuitive (ages 4 to 7)

Concrete operations stage

(ages 7 to 11)

Schoolage children are able to apply logic but their thinking is not yet abstract.  Reasoning becomes more logical but remains at concrete level.

Children become less egocentric and better at conservation tasks. Children understand that that although the appearance of something changes, the thing itself does not.

(ages 11 and beyond)

Children gain the capacity to apply logic to various situations and use symbols to solve problems. The ability of the adolescent not only to understand the observations, but also give them meaning.

(ages 2 -7)

Toddlers and preschoolers become able to represent their experiences in language and mental imagery. They are able to remember the experiences for longer periods of time and to form more sophesticated concepts.

Children are limited by egocentrism, and can perceive the world solely from their own perspective.

Children display contridictory behavior: They attempt physical closeness, but retreat with acts of avoidance. The parent's of these children have problems with depression, a history of abuse, or struggle with traumatic events in their own lives..

Some parents are negative and intrusing and freighten their babies with intense bursts of hostility.

Other parents are passive or helpless, they rarely comfort their babies and may appear afraid of their babies.

These children are afraid of the unknown and seek solace from the parent, but retreat because they are also afraid of them.

Eriksonson's stages of Psychosocial development

(ages birth to 1.5 years)

The task of this stage is for infants to develop a sense that their needs will be met by the outside world and that the outside world is an ok place to be. Infants develop an emotional bond with an adult, this becomes the foundation for being able to form intimate, loving relationships in the future. The most important factor facilitating growth in this stage is consistency in having physical and emotional needs met. Additionally, the infant has to be protected from injury and disease.

Autonomy versus Shame and guilt

(ages 1.5 to 3 YO)

A child with autonom has a growing sense of self-awareness and begins to seek independence and self-control. Children are proud of their accomplichments and control over body functions. To develop this stage children need firm limits for controlling impulses and managing anxieties, but they still need freedom to explore their environment.

Pre-conventional

Conventional

Post-conventional

Preconventional