Question

Tomas and his father are on the floor playing with a stuffed animal. When Tomas's father moves to pet the family dog, he accidentally covers the stuffed animal with a blanket. Tomas does not understand why his stuffed animal is gone and begins to cry. Which concept has Tomas not yet obtained?

Centration
Assimilation
Symbolic thinking
Object permanence

Answer 1

Tomas has not developed object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when not visible. This cognitive milestone typically arises in the sensorimotor stage of childhood development.

Step-by-step explanation:

Tomas, in the scenario described, has not yet developed the concept of object permanence. Object permanence is a fundamental cognitive development stage in which an individual understands that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible or immediately present. Since Tomas cried when his stuffed animal was covered with a blanket, it shows that he does not realize the stuffed animal still exists underneath it. This developmental milestone typically occurs during the sensorimotor stage of development, which lasts from birth to about two years old. In Jean Piaget's theory, object permanence is considered a critical stage, and the lack of it is symptomatic of the earliest phases of cognitive development.