Sensory-motor stage

The sensory-motor stage is the first of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, occurring from birth to roughly age two. During this period, infants learn about the world primarily through their senses and actions. They explore their environment, gain motor skills, and develop object permanence—the understanding that objects continue to exist even when not seen. This stage is crucial as it lays the foundation for later cognitive processes, allowing children to interact with their surroundings and start forming basic concepts about the world around them.