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cognitive dev in adulthood

The document discusses cognitive development in young adults, emphasizing the concept of postformal thought, which transcends Piaget's formal reasoning by incorporating subjective experience and intuition. It outlines various stages of cognitive development proposed by Schaie, from acquiring knowledge for its own sake to focusing on meaningful pursuits in later life. Additionally, it highlights the importance of emotional intelligence and tacit knowledge in practical problem-solving and life success.

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karthick
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4 views

cognitive dev in adulthood

The document discusses cognitive development in young adults, emphasizing the concept of postformal thought, which transcends Piaget's formal reasoning by incorporating subjective experience and intuition. It outlines various stages of cognitive development proposed by Schaie, from acquiring knowledge for its own sake to focusing on meaningful pursuits in later life. Additionally, it highlights the importance of emotional intelligence and tacit knowledge in practical problem-solving and life success.

Uploaded by

karthick
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cognitive development in

young adults
Unit 2
The shift to postformal thought – beyond
Piaget
Critics of Piaget’s theory state that formal reasoning
need not be the highest form of thought process.
Thinking can be far richer and more complex than
the abstract intellectual manipulations.
Hence, postformal thought is seen as higher stage of
adult cognition.

Postformal though is the mature type of thinking,


which relies on subjective experience and intuition as
well as logic and is useful in dealing with ambiguity,
uncertainty, inconsistency, contradiction,
imperfection and compromise.
Postfromal thought- thought in adulthood
Flexible
Open
Adaptive
Individualistic
Draws on intuition and emotion as well as on logic
Applies experience to ambiguous situations
Is relativistic
Immature thinking sees black and white (right vs
wrong intellect vs feeling )where as postformal
thinking sees shades of gray.
It develops in response to events and interactions
that open up unaccustomed ways of looking at
things and challenge a simple view of the world.

It enables adults to transcend a single logical


system of though and reconcile or choose among
conflicting ideas or demands

It deals with information in a social context such


as social dilemmas which are clearly structured
and filled with emotions
Criteria of postformal thought (Jan Sinnott-
1998)
Shifting gears – ability to shift back and
forth between abstract reasoning and
practical real world considerations

Multiple causality, multiple solutions –


awareness that most problems have more
than one cause and more than one solution
and that some solutions are more likely to
work than others
Pragmatism – ability to choose the best of
several possible solutions and to recognize
criteria for choosing

Awareness of paradox – recognition that a


problem or solution involves inherent conflict
Schaie – a life span model of cognitive
development (K Warner Schaie)
His theory spells out the development of
cognition from what I need to know, how to
use what I know to why I should know.

Acquisitive stage (childhood and


adolescence) – children and adolescents
acquire information and skills mainly for their
own sake or as preparation for participation
in society
Achieving stage (late teens or early
twenties to early thirties ) – young adults no
longer acquire knowledge merely for its own
sake, they use what they know to pursue
goals such as career and family.

Responsible stage (late thirties to early


sixties ) = middle aged people use their
minds to solve practical problems associated
with responsibilities to others such as family
members or employees
Executive stage (thirties or forties through
middle age) – think in terms of being
responsible for societal systems . They deal
with complex relationships on multiple levels

Reorganizational stage (end of middle age,


beginning of late adulthood) – people who
enter retirement reorganize their lives and
intellectual energies around meaningful
pursuits that take the place of paid work
Reintegrative stage (late adulthood) – older adults
will let go of some social involvement and are more
selective about what tasks they give effort on. They
focus on the purpose of what they do and concentrate
on task that have the most meaning for them.

Legacy creating stage (advanced old age) – in


keeping with their age and experience, they exercise
cognitive competencies within a social and emotional
context.

Not all have to go through these stages within the


suggested time frames
Sternberg – Insight and know how
Triarchic theory of intelligence - experiential element
(creative insight) , contextual element (practical
intelligence), componential element (analytical)

Insight and practical intelligence is a very important


aspect of adult cognition and it is directly correlated
with life success.

Studies suggest that creative production and the


ability to solve practical problems grow until midlife
while the ability to solve academic problems generally
declines.
Life experiences helps the adult to solve
practical problems.

Academic problems may not have relevance


to life situations and there is only one right
way to solve it, where as , practical problems
are ill defined, hence, multiple ways to
resolving it and it has direct relevance to the
persons life, thereby greater and careful
though is given to solve it.
Tacit knowledge
 Sternberg’s term for information that is not formally
taught or openly expressed but is necessary to get ahead.

 An important aspect of practical intelligence is tacit


knowledge ie, inside information, know-how.

 It is acquired mainly by one’s own self. It is the


commonsense or knowledge as to how to get along.
 Eg. How to break redtapism, get promotions, get along
with others or specific relation.

 This type of intelligence is a greater predictor of


managerial success.
Tacit knowledge includes – self management
– knowing how to motivate oneself and
organize time and energy and management of
tasks – knowing when and how to reward or
criticize subordinates.
Emotional intelligence
Salovey and Mayer’s term for ability to understand and
regulate emotions; an important component of effective,
intelligent behaviour.

It refers to ability to recognize and deal with one’s own


feelings and feelings of others

Daniel Golman added other components to it such as


optimism, conscientiousness, motivation, empathy and
social competence.

EI is seen to be more important than IQ to be successful


in life.
Excellence is one competency in all the areas of EI which is
the key to success in almost any job.

Ei is not opposite to cognitive intelligence according to


Golman.

Some are high on EI , some on IQ , some low on both.

According to him EI is formulated by mid adolescence when


the part of the brain incharge of emotions strengthens.

Ei is reflected in post formal thought as well as in


Gardner’s interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEWBYo
n8MPw
cognitive development in early adulthood

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