According to Piaget, children advance through how many basic stages of development?

Jean Piaget identified four fundamental stages of cognitive development in children. These stages represent a progressive evolution of children's thinking skills as they interact with their environment and gain new experiences.

The four stages are:

1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to about 2 years): In this stage, infants learn about the world through their senses and actions. They develop object permanence, understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

2. Preoperational Stage (approximately ages 2 to 7): Children in this stage begin to use language to explore and understand their environment, but their thinking is still intuitive and egocentric. They struggle with understanding the perspectives of others and the concept of conservation (the ability to recognize that quantity doesn't change even when its shape does).

3. Concrete Operational Stage (approximately ages 7 to 11): During this period, children start to think logically about concrete events. They gain a better understanding of the concept of conservation and can perform operations on tangible objects but still have difficulty with abstract or hypothetical concepts.

4. Formal Operational Stage (approximately ages 12 and up): In this final stage, individuals develop the ability to think abstractly and critically. They can formulate