For example, the ability to reason about abstract ideas emerges only after children are already capable of reasoning about concrete objects and events, and the order in which various conservation tasks are mastered is much as Piaget reported. Contemporary researchers question the ages at which various abilities actually appear, however. They’re also finding that children’s logical reasoning capabilities may vary considerably depending on their previous experiences, knowledge, and cultural backgrounds. And most contemporary researchers seriously doubt that cognitive development is as stagelike as Piaget proposed.