Which statement best completes Piaget's stages listing?

• A. Formal operational
• B. Visual-spatial stage
• C. Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational
• D. Operational stage

Answer: (C)

Piaget's model describes cognitive development as a fixed sequence of four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. In the sensorimotor stage (birth to about 2 years), children learn through direct experiences and develop object permanence. In the preoperational stage (roughly 2 to 7 years), language and symbolic thinking emerge, but thinking is still egocentric and not yet logical. The concrete operational stage (about 7 to 11 years) brings logical thinking about concrete events, including understanding conservation and reversible processes. The formal operational stage (roughly 12 years onward) introduces abstract and hypothetical reasoning. The statement listing these four stages in that exact order is the best answer because it accurately reflects the progression of Piaget's stages. The other options either name only a single stage, use a non-existent stage name, or present an incomplete or inaccurate sequence.