Piaget Meets Santa - Answers to given questions PDF

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Victoria Telhada Piaget meets Santa Claus 1. What are the general characteristics of the sensorimotor stage child? As stated in the lecture, the sensorimotor stage in children covers from birth to two years. Children use their senses and reflexes to better understand the world. In addition, information from learned senses and motor responses are also tactics that a child will use to learn more about the world. 2. On encountering Santa, explain how the sensorimotor stage child would react and behave. Upon seeing the Santa character, the child will most likely immediately feel scared and fearful because of Santa’s big frame and bright colors. They will want to stick with mom or dad because it is familiar to them. However, if Santa were to give the child a gift then the child will associate positive feelings and manners with the large and bright figure. 3. What would this stage child observe and believe? Observing Santa from afar, the child may initially be fearful and hesitant but also curious to see the large man in a red suit. Upon seeing Santa give other kids presents and making them laugh with joy, the child will want to venture closer and possibly believe that Santa is a gentle giant. 4. How would the sensorimotor child approach or deal with this experience? The sensorimotor child would be very cautious and hesitant to approach Santa and possibly even start crying. Eventually, once the child has observed Santa Claus and saw that he is giving gifts away, they will become more comfortable and less fearfully approach Santa. 5. What are the general characteristics of the Preoperational Stage child? The preoperational stage covers ages two to seven. In this stage, children’s thoughts are revolved around representation and language. They are learning through images and symbols. So for example, playing “pretend” allows the child to represent another person or being. 6. On encountering Santa, explain how the Preoperational Stage child would react and behave. As stated in the lecture, kids in the preoperational stage lack logical thinking. Santa Claus has most likely been introduced to the child by a

parent, teacher, or peers. So, in their mind meeting Santa Claus is exciting and joyful because they have a positive association with the figure. If Santa Claus were introduced in a less cheerful manner or if the child had a bad experience with Santa, then obviously the child would have a negative association with Santa and be nervous or cautious to meet him again. 7. What would this stage child observe and believe? Since preoperational children are perception bound, when a child sees a figure in a red suit with a big, bushy beard they will automatically associate these traits with Santa Claus. Because the child believes in Santa Claus, when they observe him in person they are gaining a confirmation that their imagination was right and that Santa is real. 8. How would the Preoperational Stage child approach or deal with this experience? The child in the preoperational stage will approach Santa with little hesitation and extreme excitement. They will expect to sit on his lap and get toys that Santa’s elves have made especially for him (the child). Again, children in this stage have no logical thinking, they won’t take the time to think whether the man in the suit is fake or if he even has elves....