Life Span Growth & Develompent Ch. 18 Emerging Adulthood: Cognitive Development

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Postformal Thought

Back 1

A proposed adult stage of cognitive development, following Piaget's four stages, that goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more practical, more flexible, and more dialectical (that is, more capable of combining contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole).

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Subjective Thought

Back 2

Thinking that is strongly influenced by personal qualities of the individual thinker, such as past experiences, cultural assumptions, and goals for the future.

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Objective Thought

Back 3

Thinking that is not influenced by personal qualities, such as facts and numbers that are considered true and valid by every observer.

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Stereotype Threat

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The possibility that one's appearance or behavior will be misread to confirm another person's oversimplified, prejudiced attitudes.

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Dialectical Thought

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The most advance cognitive process, characterized by the ability to consider a thesis and its antithesis simultaneously and thus to arrive at a synthesis. This thought makes possible an ongoing awareness of pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, possibilities and limitations.

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Thesis

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A proposition or statement of belief; the first stage of the process of dialectical thinking.

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Antithesis

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A proposition or statement of belief that opposes the thesis; the second stage of the process of dialectical thinking.

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Synthesis

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A new idea that integrates the thesis and its antithesis, thus representing a new and more comprehensive level of truth; the third stage of the process of dialectical thinking.

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Morality of Care

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In Gilligan's view, the tendency of females to be reluctant to judge right and wrong in absolute terms because they are socialized to be more nurturant, compassionate, and nonjudgemental.

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Morality of Justice

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In Gilligan's view, the tendency of males to emphasize justice over compassion, judging right and wrong in absolute terms.

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Defining Issues Test (DIT)

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A series of questions developed by James Rest and designed to assess respondents' level of moral development by having them rank possible solutions to moral dilemmas.

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Diversity

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For developmentalists, this involves differences among groups of people based on such characteristics as race, gender, culture, age, family income, and sexuality.

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What are the main characteristics of postformal thought?

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1) Practical - It combines subjective and objective thought, emotions and logic.
2) Flexible - realization that each person's perspecitve is only one of many, that each problem has many potential solutions, and that knowledge is dynamic (not static)
3) Dialectical thinking - using a thesis and antithesis and forging them together into synthesis

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How does postformal thought differ from formal operational thought?

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Postformal thought requires both logical and emotional reactions to challenges and requires them to abandon their sterotypes and adapt their long-term relationships.

Front 15

Give examples of dialectical thought's usefulness.

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1) the end of a love affair - relationships and people are constantly evolving; marriages do not fail, they either continue to develop or stagnate
2) Comfort collides with the desire for growth in a new class, job, relocation, etc. to finding a new synthesis provides growth vs a standstill

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How does moral reasoning change during adulthood.

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Emerging adults move beyond the acceptance of authority in childhood and the rebellion of adolescence and use cognitive processes to develop their own beliefs. Cultural values and gender (or morality of care vs morality of justice) affect beliefs.

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What are James Fowler's 6 stages of faith?

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1) Intuitive-projective faith - faith is magical, illogical, imaginative, and filled with fantasy
2) Mythic-literal faith - myths and stories of religion are taken literally
3) Synthetic-conventional faith - faith reflects concern about other people and favors what feels right over what makes intellectual sense
4) Individual-reflective faith - intellectual detachment from the values of the culture and from the approval of other people, an active committment
5) Conjunctive faith - incorporates both powerful uncounscious ideas and rational, conscious values; people are willing to accept contradicitons
6) Universalizing faith - have a powerful vision of universal compassion, justice, and love that compels them to live their lives in a way that others think saintly or foolish

Front 18

What is the relationship between cogitive growth and higher education?

Back 18

There is a positive relationship between cognitive growth and higher education.