Slide 1Piagetian Cognitive Development: Formal OperationsEvaluating Piaget’s TheoryChanges in Information ProcessingElkind: Immature ThoughtSlide 6Adolescent CognitionPostformal ThoughtEmotional Intelligence (EI)SchoolsSchoolsSchoolsThe College TransitionCombining Work and SchoolCompleting CollegeCognitive growth after collegeCareersWorkWorkAdolescence and AdulthoodCognitive DevelopmentPiagetian Cognitive Development: Formal Operations•Capacity for abstract thought•Increased verbal problem-solving ability•Metacognition – thinking about thinking•Thoughts of idealism and possibilities•Hypothetical-deductive reasoning•Creating a hypothesis and deducing its implicationsEvaluating Piaget’s Theory•Many late adolescents and adults (around 1/3) are incapable of abstract thought•Fails to capture the role or context of the situationChanges in Information Processing•Structural:•Expansion of working memory allows adolescents to deal with complex problems•Increased capacity in working memory and long term memory•Functional: •Increased ability to obtain, handle, and retain information•Mathematical and scientific reasoning•Improved proficiency in drawing conclusionsElkind: Immature Thought•Idealism and criticalness•Argumentativeness• show off reasoning abilities•Indecisiveness• many alternatives•Apparent hypocrisy•Egocentricism returns •Self-Consciousness•Imaginary Audience•Specialness and Invulnerability•Personal FableAdolescent Cognition•Information processing•Executive functioning - Involves higher-order cognitive activities such as •Reasoning•Making decisions•Monitoring thinking critically•Monitoring one’s cognitive progress•Decision making•Critical thinkingPostformal Thought•Ability to deal with:•Uncertainty and inconsistency•Contradiction•Imperfection and compromise•Draws on:•Intuition•Emotion•LogicEmotional Intelligence (EI)•The ability to recognize and deal with one’s own feelings and the feelings of others•Self-awareness•Self-management•Social awareness•Relationship managementSchools •The transition to middle or junior high school•Drop in school satisfaction•Top-dog phenomenon: Move from the top position in elementary school to:• The lowest position in middle or junior high schoolSchools •Effective schools for young adolescents•Develop smaller communities that lessen impersonality of middle schools•Lower student-counselor ratios to 10-to-1•Involve parents and community leaders•Integrate several disciplines in a flexible curriculum•Boost students’ health and fitness with more programs•Provide public health careSchools •High school•Graduate with inadequate reading, writing, and mathematical skills•High schools should discourage dropping out•Service learning: Form of education that promotes social responsibility and service to the communityThe College Transition•U.S. college enrollment at record high•38% of all 18- to 24-year-olds•Mostly due to increasing numbers of females•56% of undergraduatesCombining Work and School•Working part-time can help students organize their time and learn good work habits•But, more than 15-20 hours per week can have a negative impactCompleting College•Only 1 out of 4 who start college have a degree within 5 years•Completing College depends upon:•Motivation and aptitude•Ability to work independently•Social integration and support•Fit between school and studentCognitive growth after college•Substantive Complexity of Work•The degree of thought and independent judgment required•A person’s flexibility in coping with cognitive demands•Spillover Hypothesis•Cognitive gains from work carry over to nonworking hoursCareers•Only 20% of 12 – 22-year-olds had a clear vision of where they want to go in life•Students focus only on short-term goals •Don’t explore the big, long-term picture of what they want to do in lifeWork •The impact of work•Most spend 1/3 of their lives at work•Important consideration is how stressful the work is•Monitoring the occupational outlook•Be knowledgeable about different fields and companiesWork • •Produces stress regardless of whether the job loss is temporary, cyclical, or permanent•Factors affecting employment• •Women have increasingly entered the labor force•Ethnic diversity also increasing in the workplace in almost every developed