During which cognitive development stage do children gain the ability to think logically about concrete events?

The concrete operational stage is the correct choice because it is during this phase, typically occurring between the ages of 7 and 11, that children begin to think logically about concrete events. They develop the ability to perform operations that involve tangible objects and can reason about the physical world. During this stage, children understand the concepts of conservation, where they realize that quantities remain the same despite changes in shape or arrangement, and they can classify objects by their properties.

This logical thinking is grounded in real-world experiences rather than abstract concepts, distinguishing it from other stages of cognitive development. For instance, in the preoperational stage, which occurs earlier, children are still very much focused on symbolic play and are limited in their ability to think logically about concrete phenomena. The sensorimotor stage, which precedes the preoperational stage, is characterized by learning through sensory experiences and motor actions without logical reasoning. The formal operational stage follows the concrete operational stage, where individuals begin to think abstractly and hypothetically, building on the logical thinking developed in the previous stage.