The school nurse providing school health screenings knows that the 7- to 11-year-old is in Piaget's stage of concrete operational thoughts. What should this age group accomplish when developing operations? Select all that apply

Question

A) Ability to assimilate and coordinate information about the world from different dimensions
B) Ability to see things from another person's point of view and think through an action
C) Ability to use stored memories of past experiences to evaluate and interpret present situations
D) Ability to think about a problem from all points of view, ranking the possible solutions while solving the problem
E) Ability to think outside of the present and incorporate into thinking concepts that do exist as well as concepts that might exist
F) Ability to understand the principle of conservation—that matter does not change when its form changes

Answer 1

Ans: A, B, C, F
Piaget's stage of cognitive development for the 7- to 11-year-old is the period of concrete operational thoughts. In developing concrete operations, the child is able to assimilate and coordinate information about the world from different dimensions. He or she is able to see things from another person's point of view and think through an action, anticipating its consequences and the possibility of having to rethink the action. The school-age child is able to use stored memories of past experiences to evaluate and interpret present situations. Also, during concrete operational thinking, the school-age child develops an understanding of the principle of conservation—that matter does not change when its form changes. According to Piaget, the adolescent progresses from a concrete framework of thinking to an abstract one in the formal operational period. During this period, the adolescent is able to think about a problem from all points of view, ranking the possible solutions while solving the problem. The adolescent also develops the ability to think outside of the present; that is, he or she can incorporate into thinking concepts that do exist as well as concepts that might exist. His or her thinking becomes logical, organized, and consistent.