According to Piaget, middle childhood is partly characterized by which of the following cognitive abilities?

• A. The emergence of abstract and hypothetical reasoning
• B. The development of concrete operational thought, allowing children to perform logical operations on tangible objects and events
• C. The inability to understand object permanence
• D. The use of symbolic play and egocentric thinking

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand Piaget's stages of cognitive development, focusing on the stage relevant to middle childhood, which is typically the Concrete Operational Stage.
2. Recall that the Concrete Operational Stage occurs approximately between ages 7 and 11, during which children develop the ability to think logically about concrete events and objects.
3. Recognize that during this stage, children gain skills such as conservation, classification, and seriation, which involve logical operations on tangible, real-world items rather than abstract concepts.
4. Contrast this with the Formal Operational Stage, which follows middle childhood and is characterized by the emergence of abstract and hypothetical reasoning.
5. Identify that the correct cognitive ability for middle childhood according to Piaget is the development of concrete operational thought, enabling logical operations on tangible objects and events.