An infant watches his mother hide a toy under a cloth. He immediately lifts the cloth and retrieves the toy. According to Piaget, achievement of this behaviour marks the emergence of which concept, and in which stage does it appear?

• A Object permanence, sensorimotor stage ✓
• B Symbolic play, preoperational stage
• C Conservation, concrete operational stage
• D Stranger anxiety, sensorimotor stage

Explanation

Object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, develops during Piaget's sensorimotor stage and is fully established by about 9 to 12 months. Retrieving a hidden toy demonstrates this concept. Symbolic play belongs to the preoperational stage beginning near 2 years, and conservation is achieved only in the concrete operational stage at 6 to 7 years.

Reference: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 21st ed.

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