Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes 4 stages of development from birth through adulthood. The stages are: sensorimotor (birth to 2 years), preoperational (2 to 7 years), concrete operational (7 to 11 years), and formal operational (12 to adulthood). Piaget was interested in the underlying reasoning processes that led to children's answers rather than just being right or wrong. He believed that cognitive development occurs through an interaction between innate capacities and environmental experiences as children progress through different stages of thinking.