American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Practice Test

Which stage is characterized by the development of hand-eye coordination?

1. Preoperational stage

2. Concrete operational stage

3. Sensorimotor stage

4. Formal operational stage

The correct answer is: Sensorimotor stage

The sensorimotor stage is characterized by the development of hand-eye coordination as it is the earliest stage of cognitive development, occurring from birth to approximately two years of age. During this stage, infants and toddlers learn about the world through their sensory experiences and motor actions. They begin to explore their environment through touch, movement, and manipulation of objects, which naturally leads to the development of hand-eye coordination. As they reach for objects, grasp them, or manipulate them, they are simultaneously refining their motor skills and improving their ability to coordinate their visual perception with their physical movements. This stage is foundational in building more complex cognitive skills that will emerge in later stages. The preoperational stage, which follows, focuses more on symbolic thought and language development rather than physical coordination. The concrete operational stage introduces logical thinking and the ability to perform operations with concrete objects, while the formal operational stage involves abstract reasoning and hypothesis testing. These stages showcase very different aspects of cognitive development that do not emphasize the physical coordination seen in the sensorimotor stage.