What mechanism did Piaget suggest explains how children progress to new stages of cognitive thought?

Piaget proposed the concept of equilibration as the mechanism that drives children through the various stages of cognitive development. This process refers to the balance that children seek between assimilation and accommodation as they make sense of their experiences in the world. When children encounter new information that does not fit their existing schemas (mental models of the world), they initially try to assimilate it, which involves integrating the new information into their current understanding. However, when this new information cannot be adequately assimilated, they must accommodate by altering their schemas to incorporate the new knowledge.

Equilibration occurs as children continuously strive for a state of cognitive balance, adjusting their internal representations of the world as they encounter new experiences. This ongoing cycle of assimilation and accommodation leads to the progression through the various cognitive stages that Piaget identified, such as moving from a sensori-motor understanding of the world to more complex logical reasoning and abstract thought. Essentially, equilibration is the overarching mechanism that facilitates cognitive development, enabling children to advance to higher levels of reasoning as they interact with their environments.