Britannica AI Icon

sensorimotor skill

Also known as: perceptual-motor skill, psychomotor skill

Quick Summary

Sensorimotor skills, also known as psychomotor or perceptual-motor skills, involve the development of organized patterns of muscular activity guided by environmental signals. These skills are crucial for tasks like driving a car, eye-hand coordination in activities such as sewing or typing, and operating machinery.1

In the context of child development, Jean Piaget identified the sensorimotor stage as the first phase of mental development, lasting from birth to approximately two years of age. During this stage, infants acquire sensorimotor schemes, which are mental representations of motor actions used to achieve goals, such as sucking, grasping, and kicking. These actions become more coordinated and intentional as the child progresses through subphases, eventually leading to problem-solving through mental imagery rather than just physical trial-and-error. A key development during this stage is the acquisition of object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.234

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.