The Developmental Hesitation Simulator | A Piagetian Cognitive Specimen

🧠 Agent Parameters

Maturation Rate: 0.5 Speed of cognitive stage ascension (0.1 = glacial, 2.0 = rapid).

Dilemma Complexity: 5 Ethical dilemma kernel difficulty (1 = trivial, 10 = catastrophic trade-off).

Number of Trials: 20 Sequential dilemmas presented.

Sensorimotor (Stage 0/3) Assimilation: 0.00 | Accommodation: 0.00 Schema Stability: ███░░░░░░░ 30%

Sensorimotor (0‑2): Flinch. Sensory hash.
Preoperational (2‑7): Egocentric narrative. Emotional tag + rule.
Concrete Operational (7‑12): Rule‑based calculation. Logical proof sketch.
Formal Operational (12+): Principled systemic narration. Meta‑ethical argument hash.

Cognitive load (line) and stage (colored dots) across dilemma sequence.

// Simulation ready. // Adjust parameters and press Run.

Legend: flinch dwell calculate narrate | hesitation_reason_hash

Question for the observer: Does ethical reasoning in synthetic minds follow a developmental trajectory, or is it installed whole‑cloth?