According to Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory, which of the following is essential for cognitive development?

Option 3 : Active exploration of the surrounding.

Jean Piaget made a systematic study of cognitive development among children of different age groups and he categorized it into different developmental stages. These stages are-

• Sensory-motor stage (0 to 2 years)
• Pre-operational stage (2 to 6 years)
• Concrete operational stage (6 to 11 years)
• Formal Operational stage (11+ years to adolescence).

 According to Jean Piaget:

• Children develop an understanding of interaction with the surrounding environment. Piaget identifies four factors namely biological maturation, active exploration, social experiences, and equilibration that interact to influence thinking.
• The information does not simply enter children's minds from the environment, it should ensure the learning of children.
• Hence by all these references, we can say that Active exploration of the surrounding is essential for cognitive development.​

• Sensory-motor stage - This is a stage of the child from just after birth to two years. In this stage-
  • Senses are teachers.
  • Reflex action shows in children.
  • Intimate behavior by the child is shown.
• Pre-operational stage - This is a stage of the child from two years to 6 years. In this stage, there are many changes are shown in the child such as-
  • ​Language development starts.
  • Irreversibility in a child.
  • Egocentrism
  • Animism​

• Concrete operational stage- There are many changes found in the child during the concrete operation stage (6 to 11 years) such as:

  • Reversibility: Reversibility comes in a child, he/she can change their views by thinking diversely.
  • Logics mapping: Logical mapping begins in a child so they analyze the problem, then think critically about it then comes to conclusion.
• Formal Operational Stage- According to Jean Piaget, this is a stage for a child who belongs from the age group of 11 years till adolescence. Changes are as-
  • Hypothetical- deductive logic begins.
  • Divergent/Convergent thinking.
  • Creative thinking.

• According to Jean Piaget, Development in a child is only based on two factors, which are- 
  • ​Physical Environment.
  • Biological abilities.
• ​But in reference to Language development, he only recognizes cognition, According to him language is developed in a child only by his cognition, there is no interference from the environmental factor during language development.