Considers relationships of dialectical thinking to formal operational thought; general conceptions of cognitive structure to understanding thinking across specific domains; motivational and cognitive competence factors in adult reasoning; and contextualistic and dialectical conceptions of social intelligence. Outlines structural-developmental…

Introduces five papers by presenting a rationale for examining personality and social factors in relation to intellectual aging. Argues that identification of links between personality, social, and cognitive factors may be useful for explaining and predicting variations in the course of intellectual aging. Recommends collaboration among…

Outlines major premises of contextual perspectives to adult intellectual development and describes what theorists hypothesize to be changes in environmental demands that occur during adulthood. Presents research suggesting that people's conceptions of intelligence at all points during development include social competence as a form of intellectual…