At what stage does a child typically engage in logical thinking about concrete events and objects?

The concrete operational stage is characterized by the development of logical thinking about concrete events and objects. Children in this stage, typically aged 7 to 11 years, begin to think logically about concrete situations and can understand the concept of conservation—that is, they recognize that quantity does not change despite changes in its shape or arrangement. They start to categorize objects, understand the relationship between different objects, and solve problems in a systematic way.

This stage is foundational in that it allows children to make sense of their surroundings through hands-on experience and manipulation of physical objects. They become capable of performing operations that are reversible, enabling them to think about the world more fluidly and logically without needing to rely exclusively on their instincts or immediate perceptions.

In contrast, other stages do not align with logical thinking about concrete events. The preoperational stage, for instance, is marked by egocentric thinking and a lack of understanding of complex concepts, while the sensorimotor stage focuses on infants learning through direct sensory and motor interactions with their environment. The formal operational stage that follows allows for abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking, which occurs after the concrete operational stage.