Which developmental task characterizes Stage 1 Infancy (birth to 24 months)?

• A. Development of sensory/perceptual and motor functions
• B. Sensory motor intelligence
• C. Communication
• D. Attachment

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that the core task in early infancy is building the sensory-perceptual and motor foundations. From birth through the first two years, babies rapidly develop their senses and learn to move and act on the world. This period is about transitioning from reflexive responses to voluntary actions, coordinating perception with movement, and beginning to explore objects and people through sight, sound, touch, and proprioception. Those sensorimotor experiences lay the groundwork for later cognitive, language, and social skills, so this broad development of sensory-perceptual and motor functions best captures what infants are primarily doing in this stage.

Attachment and communication develop during this time as well, but the defining developmental focus of infancy is the maturation and integration of sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities. The term sensory motor intelligence describes the cognitive organization within this period, but the overarching task remains developing the sensory-perceptual and motor base.