Early Adulthood: COGNITIVE

Question 1

What is postformal thought?

Answer 1

types of thinking that are associated with a hypothesized fifth stage of cognitive development

• includes relativism, dialectical thought, reflective judgement

Question 2

What is relativism?

Answer 2

• Relativism: the idea that some propositions cannot be adequately described as either true or false
• Problem does not have a solution
• “it depends”
• Increases in post-secondary

Question 3

what is dialectical thought?

Answer 3

• Dialectical thought: a form of thought involving recognition and acceptance of paradox and uncertainty
• Does not have a single solution
• Pros and cons to everything

Question 4

What is Reflective Judgement?

Answer 4

• Reflective judgement: the ability to identify the underlying assumptions of differing perspectives on controversial issues
• Understanding the assumptions another made based on their perspective

Question 5

Does research say in Seattle’s longitudinal study (Warner Schaie) about changes in IQ during early adulthood?

Answer 5

• Cross-sectional comparisons support a steady drop in IQ
• Short-term, different groups of people
• Longitudinal evidence suggests IQ rises in early adulthood, plateaus until age 60, and then declines
• Long term, same group of people

Question 6

What is crystallized intelligence?

Answer 6

• depends heavily on education and experience. It consists of the set of skills and bits of knowledge that every adult learns as part of growing up in any given culture
• Stabilizes or increases
• E.g., vocabulary, ability to read, technical skills for your job

Question 7

What is fluid intelligence?

Answer 7

• involves more “basic” abilities that depend on the efficient functioning of the central nervous system and less on specific experience
• Innate processing abilities
• Non-verbal abilities (problem solving, thinking processes, abstract reasoning

Question 8

What does research say about crystallized vs fluid intelligence?

Answer 8

Research suggests that adults maintain crystallized intelligence throughout early and middle adulthood, but fluid intelligence declines fairly steadily over adulthood, starting at perhaps age 35 or 40

Question 9

What are some developmental impacts of secondary education?

Answer 9

• Gains in post-secondary educational attainment have been made among women and Indigenous Canadians
• earn much more and have a clear employment advantage—especially for young women
• It is not uncommon for students’ academic and vocational aspirations to change during post-secondary school enrolment

Question 10

Is it known if employers prefer graduates over non-graduates?

Answer 10

not known