Ch. 18 Emerging Adulthood: Cognitive Development MR. ALAS, MA HCC – STAFFORD SPRING 2015

Why Is Postformal Thought Important? Teens and others who use formal operational thinking have a strong tendency to defer to the opinions of others, particularly authorities, in determining a "right answer" to a problem. While there are certainly many "right answers" for issues such as the atomic weight of gold or the temperature at which water boils, most of the issues facing adults today are far less clear. Independent, critical thinking about complex issues is a very important adult skill, especially in a democracy.

POST FORMAL THOUGHT – THE PRATCTICAL THE PERSONAL: A FIFTH STAGE? Formal-operational thinking is absolute, and involves making decisions based on personal experience and logic. Post-formal thinking is more complex, and involves making decisions based on situational constraints and circumstances, and integrating emotion with logic to form context-dependent principles. The distinction is a useful thing to understand when dealing with emerging adults

Definition of Objective and Subjective Objective is a statement that is completely unbiased. It is not touched by the speaker’s previous experiences or tastes. It is verifiable by looking up facts or performing mathematical calculations. Subjective is a statement that has been colored by the character of the speaker or writer. It often has a basis in reality, but reflects the perspective through with the speaker views reality. It cannot be verified using concrete facts and figures.

Examples of Objective and Subjective Objective scientific facts are objective as are mathematical proofs; essentially anything that can be backed up with solid data. Subjective opinions, interpretations, and any type of marketing presentation are all subjective.

Examples of Objective and Subjective Subjective vs Objective

COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY The mental ability to adjust thinking or attention in response to changing goals and/or environmental stimuli. Researchers have more specifically described cognitive flexibility as the capacity to shift or switch one’s thinking and attention between different tasks or operations typically in response to a change in rules or demands

STEREOTRYPE THREAT Stereotype Threat Stereotype Threat 2 Barbie Test

FORMAL THOUGHT Heglegian Dialectic

MORAL REASONING

Stages of Faith Stages of Faith and Doubt

COLLEGE? Public school to Prison pipeline