Proposes a theoretical model of cognitive development and applies this model to the secondary analysis of two large-scale studies which focus on the acquisition of formal operational schemata by adolescents in the United States and Israel. Results support the "unity" hypothesis of cognitive development that the various schemata of formal…

In a study of operative thought in children, 104 children, aged 4 to 9, were tested 5 times with the same 25 Piagetian tasks. There were manifest indicators of synergy in the development of the various behaviors, but it was not possible to validate specific problems of behavior organization. (SLD)

Gifted and highly gifted girls in grades four to six were given Piagetian-type manipulative problem-solving tasks reflecting formal operations. Although Flavell suggested that a chronological age of 10 years was necessary for successful completion of these tasks, time allowed was a more valid predictor. (LMO)

Previous investigations on Piagetian cognitive levels among college students both within and across academic disciplines have not addressed the issue of possible differences in cognitive levels between traditional undergraduates and older returning students. Piagetian cognitive levels were studied among traditional- and nontraditional-age college…

Assessed the relative availability of Piagetian formal reasoning concepts at different ages in adulthood and examined performance patterns on standardized intelligence tests, logical reasoning, immediate memory span, and personality measures. Results indicated that although the elderly students' performances were generally adequate, their scores…

Investigated the relationship between the development of formal operations and the formation of ego identity in adolescence. Obtained significant positive correlations between combinatorial ability and degree of identity, suggesting that high identity may facilitate the application of combinatorial operations. Found some gender differences in task…

W. M. Gray's "How is Your Logic?" a Piagetian-based, group-administered written test of cognitive development, and B. Leadbeater's Livian Wars Task, a formal operations-based, written, social-cognition problem were given to 348 college undergraduate and graduate students to investigate the impact of chronological age and amount of formal…

In an attempt to accelerate the development of formal operations in average young adolescents, up to 30 intervention lessons relating to all formal schemata were given by science teachers, over a period of 2 years, to classes in eight British schools. Boys starting the program aged 12 years-plus showed a pre-test, post-test effect size on…

A common concern raised by teachers from secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore is the apparent inability or reluctance of adolescents to think critically and originally. Adolescent thought processes are probably shaped by the change in intellectual pace and quality between the primary and secondary school curriculum. This study of…