What ability is prominent in the Concrete Operational Stage of cognitive development?

The Concrete Operational Stage, as defined by Jean Piaget, typically occurs between the ages of 7 and 11 years. During this stage, children develop the ability to think logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation — the idea that certain properties of objects, such as volume or number, remain the same despite changes in the form or arrangement of those objects. This means that children can mentally manipulate information and understand relationships between different aspects of physical objects.

For instance, a child in this stage can understand that pouring water from a short, wide glass into a tall, narrow glass does not change the amount of water present. The focus here is on logical reasoning regarding tangible, concrete situations rather than abstract thoughts or hypothetical situations, which are characteristic of later stages, particularly the Formal Operational Stage. Thus, the emphasis on logical thought processes and conservation is key to the cognitive abilities developed during the Concrete Operational Stage.