Which stage involves logical thinking about concrete events, including reversibility?

• A. Concrete Operations
• B. Preoperational
• C. Sensorimotor
• D. Cognitivist

Answer: (A)

Understanding this item requires knowing Piaget's stages of cognitive development. The stage that involves logical thinking about concrete events and includes reversibility is the concrete operational stage. In this stage—roughly ages 7 to 11—children move from intuitive, perceptual thought to more organized, logical reasoning when dealing with real, tangible objects and events. They can solve problems by considering multiple aspects and by mentally reversing actions. For example, they understand that pouring water into a different-shaped container doesn’t change the amount, and they recognize that a transformed object can be returned to its original state. This reversibility, along with skills like conservation and classification, is characteristic of this stage. Earlier, in the preoperational stage, thinking is more egocentric and lacks reversibility, and the sensorimotor stage centers on direct sensory and motor experiences. The formal operational stage later introduces abstract and hypothetical reasoning.