Final answer:
The main criticisms of Piaget's sensorimotor theory include the continuity of cognitive development as opposed to discrete stages, early achievement of cognitive milestones like object permanence, and underestimating young children’s cognitive capabilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The major critiques of Piaget's sensorimotor theory focus on a few key points. Despite Jean Piaget's significant contributions to developmental psychology, research has revealed that cognitive development may be more continuous than his staged approach suggests.
Additionally, his timeline for certain cognitive milestones, particularly during the sensorimotor stage, has been questioned. Piaget posited that during this stage, from birth to about 2 years old, children learn about the world through senses and motor behaviors, and develop object permanence between 5 and 8 months old.
However, newer studies indicate that children might gain an understanding of object permance and the properties of objects earlier than Piaget theorized.
One critique is that development is more continuous and less stage-like than Piaget proposed, with research suggesting children achieve cognitive milestones sooner. Another criticism is based on Piaget's methodological approach, which has been considered to have theoretical assumptions that were not fully fleshed out.
Lastly, the theory does not elaborate on the transitions between stages, and some suggest Piaget underestimated the cognitive abilities of young children, such as their socioemotional capacities, which are important aspects of the developmental process and are better explained by theories like the socioemotional selectivity theory.