Certificate In Psychology (CPSY) Practice Exam

What ability do children develop in substage 6 of the sensorimotor period?

1. They can search for an object without seeing it moved.

2. They search where they last found the object even if it was moved.

3. They can search for an object in a new place only if they see it moved.

4. They are first able to search for covered objects.

The correct answer is: They can search for an object in a new place only if they see it moved.

In substage 6 of the sensorimotor period, children demonstrate the ability to form mental representations of objects and events. This means they can understand that an object exists even when it is not in their immediate view. More specifically, children can search for an object in a new place only after they have seen it moved. This indicates a significant cognitive advancement compared to earlier substages, where infants may only search for objects where they last saw them or may not exhibit a clear understanding of the object's permanence. In substage 6, children begin to develop problem-solving skills and use their memory to anticipate an object's location, which involves the ability to remember and visualize where the object was located before it was hidden or moved. This emerging understanding of object permanence and the ability to track changes enhances their cognitive development, laying the groundwork for more complex thinking and reasoning in the future.