A recent movement in international development has seen the expansion of capacity development activities to include adaptive approaches to education. Adaptive approaches are distinct from traditional approaches to education as they seek not only to provide new knowledge, but to cultivate more complex and flexible qualities of mind. Borrowed from…

A review of research shows that while some studies support (1) the necessity of developing logical (operational) thought, (2) the maintenance of this cognitive level, and (3) the finality of the formal operational stage, the bulk of research challenges these three aspects of traditional Piagetian theory. (LRA)

Argues that cognition must be understood in context of real-life adaptation, making social cognition an important area of investigation. Advocates unified theoretical approach to encompass child and adult social-cognitive development and presents life-span model synthesizing work from child and adult social-cognitive literatures. Presents seven…

The generality of ability factor structure in adulthood and old age was investigated. Data were analyzed for 198 young individuals (15-32 years), 156 younger old individuals (53-68 years), and 156 older old individuals (69-91). Variables were nine tests marking three ability factors. (Author/CTM)

This paper examines the relationship between wisdom and logic as found in adult reasoning. Material is from the current and growing literature in this area. The proposal that adult reasoning is dialectical and, therefore, beyond formal operations is scrutinized in light of popular definitions of wisdom, since wisdom is generally considered to be…

Research on logical competence in adulthood was framed by the general competence-moderator-performance model of life span cognitive development constructed by Overton and his colleagues. This approach was able to distinguish between logical knowledge necessary for task solution and informational processes that may facilitate or inhibit the…

Studied adults (ages 20-79) presented with two types of problem-solving tasks: a typical task used in problem-solving research, and a task composed of practical daily life problems. Results indicated that developmental function depends on the type of problem presented, while performance on abstract problems may decrease with age. (Author)

Examined age- and skill-related differences among adult Bingo players, aged 19 to 74, who had from less that 2 months to over 20 years of playing experience. Subjects completed psychometric, cognitive, and experimental measures. Found no age-related differences on psychometric or memory measures, suggesting that Bingo playing experience may have…

Are there universal characteristics of adult thought? If so, how do they evolve and manifest themselves in cultures throughout the world? Piaget's formulation of formal operations is the best known and most extensively researched answer to the question regarding universal characteristics. Theoretical alternatives to formal operations differ in the…

Simultaneous maximum likelihood procedures were used to investigate the generality of ability factor structure in adulthood and old age. Data were analyzed for 198 subjects aged 15-32; 173 subjects aged 51-67; and 153 subjects aged 68-83. Variables were 14 ability tests marking five cognitive factors: verbal comprehension, number facility,…

One of the issues facing educators is the increasing number of nontraditional students appearing in the college classroom. Recent conceptualizations of adult reasoning have suggested that there are qualitative differences in reasoning from young to late adulthood. The objective of this study was to examine cognitive differences rather than…

While Jean Piaget's work as it relates to the development of childhood and adolescent cognition has long been explored, only recently has the usefulness of Piaget's theory in the study of adult cognition been studied. Recent research by educational psychologists has raised serious doubts about Piaget's theoretical position that the highest level…

This paper presents a study which indicates that accurate performance on a simple conservation task need not be related to congnitive maturity. Twenty adults and 20 third graders were given three verbal problems, each requiring a same-different judgment and an explanation of that judgment. Only 3 adults were able to give correct judgments, while…

The developmental trend from overall-similarity to dimensional-identity classifications is explained by a quantitative model. The model provides good qualitative fits to the extant data. Three experiments examining classifications in 120 2- to 8-year-olds and in 20 undergraduates support specific new claims of the model. (TJH)

The Piagetian perspective of adult cognitive development and adult education could have implications for how work and formal reasoning can be related to adult education programs and policy. During adolescence and adulthood, many individuals enter the cognitive period of formal operations (the last of three stages in Piaget's conceptual framework…