Which of the following best describes concrete operational thought?

Concrete operational thought, as defined by Jean Piaget in his stages of cognitive development, is characterized by the ability to perform mental operations on concrete objects and events. During this stage, which typically occurs between ages 7 and 11, children develop skills in logical thinking and can manipulate information cognitively. They can understand the concept of conservation, categorize objects, and reason about concrete situations, meaning they can think logically about real, tangible concepts rather than abstract ideas.

This is why the description of performing operations mentally rather than physically resonates with concrete operational thought. Children in this stage can solve problems using logic but are still grounded in concrete references—meaning while they can do mental operations, these operations typically do not extend to abstract concepts that are not directly linked to real-world situations.

The other provided descriptions do not accurately reflect the characteristics of concrete operational thought. Focusing on intuition over logic aligns more with earlier stages of cognitive development, where children may rely on perceptual features rather than logical reasoning. Understanding complex hypothetical situations is more aligned with formal operational thought, which emerges later in adolescence and involves abstract reasoning. Lastly, reliance on experience rather than reasoning doesn’t capture the essence of concrete operational thought, which is more about logical operations applied to tangible experiences rather than