The sensorimotor stage is the earliest in Piaget's 

theory of cognitive development.

He described this period as a time of tremendous growth and change. Piaget chose
to call this stage the 'sensorimotor' stage because it is through the senses and motor
abilities that infants gain a basic understanding of the world around them. The
abilities that an infant is born with—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—
combined with physical capabilities that continue to develop, including touching,
grasping, and tasting, allow infants to interact and build awareness of themselves
and what is around them. The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to approximately
age 2.
1. Representation of Events and Objects in Memory
This development stage allows the child to represent or construct simple concepts
of objects and events. The representation acquires a permanence lacking in the
individual experiences of the object, which are constantly changing. By the second
half of the first year, infants are capable of recall, as indicated by their ability to
find hidden objects and engage in deferred imitation.
Example: A Barbie Doll
A Barbie Doll may be just a confusing array of sensations at first, but by looking,
feeling, and manipulating it repeatedly, the child gradually organizes her
sensations and actions into a stable concept, barbie doll. Because the representation
is stable, the child “knows,” or at least believes, that doll exists even if the
actual barbie doll is temporarily out of sight.
2. Establishment of Object Permanence
According to Piaget, developing object permanence is one of the most important
accomplishments at the sensorimotor stage of development. Object permanence is
a child's understanding that objects continue to exist even though they cannot be
seen or heard.
Example: Peek-a-boo

A very young infant will believe that the other person or object has actually
vanished and will act shocked or startled when the object reappears. Older infants
who understand object permanence will realize that the person or object continues
to exist even when unseen. This is a classic example of how, during this stage, an
infant's knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and
motor activities and how behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused
by sensory stimuli.

3. Discovery of Tools

When children master the basic actions on objects, they begin to learn more
complex actions that may involve several objects. They also learn how one object
could be used as a tool to act on another one. This development becomes very
prominent in the second year of life. They also begin to explore the relationship
between different objects and between objects and support surfaces. When infants
begin to use one object to act on another one, their action repertoire increases
dramatically. This is of great significance for the development of object knowledge
and spatial cognition and the start of tool-use.

Example: Infants find it very attractive to build towers, put lids on pans, and insert
objects into holes.

4. Emergence of Symbolic Play

This final substage involves the development of symbolic thought, and it’s a big
leap. According to Piaget’s theory, at 18 months children begin to understand that
symbols can represent objects. This expands on the concept of object
permanence — the knowledge that objects continue to exist even when they can’t
be seen. At this stage, a child can remember and repeat words or actions from
previous days. Imaginative play typically begins during this period, and the child’s
vocabulary will develop significantly. They might ask short questions and make
requests with one or two words.

Example: Responding to parents’ leaving

Object permanence also involves the knowledge that parents still exist when they
temporarily leave the room. If a child cries when parents step out of the room,
responding to their distress can help them realize parents haven’t disappeared and
that they will come back when they need them. Once a child understands object
permanence, they may not mind when parents leave the room, since they
understand parents will return eventually.

The child’s sensorimotor system is especially designed to facilitate

the extraction of knowledge about the world including other people. As children
interact with their environments, they go through an astonishing amount of
cognitive growth in a relatively short period of time.