Final answer:
Piaget's approach to cognitive development posits that development occurs in isolated stages, which is a discontinuity view of cognitive progression. The sensorimotor stage, the first stage of cognitive development, occurs from birth through age 2, not in adolescence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regarding Piaget's approach to cognitive development, the following statement is true: development occurs in isolated stages. Piaget's theory is a discontinuity approach to development, meaning that cognitive abilities develop through specific, qualitatively different stages that each child progresses through in a sequential order. These stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.Each stage in Piaget's theory is linked to an age range and a distinct shift in cognitive abilities. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth through age 2 where a child learns about the world through senses and motor behavior. Contrary to the proposition that Piaget's sensorimotor stage occurs in adolescence, it actually takes place in infancy. Additionally, Piaget did acknowledge the role of the environment, suggesting that development is influenced by interactions with the world, but his theory largely focuses on the individual's cognitive processes rather than social factors.While contemporary research suggests that cognitive development might be more continuous than Piaget's discrete stages and that children may reach milestones earlier than he proposed, these findings are criticisms of his original theory, not part of the theory itself.