Late Adolescent And Adult Cognitive Development

By Author: Jordon
Total Articles: 91
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There is more divergence in the developmental pathways described in the models discussed in this cluster than for the prior clusters, but all emphasize the relevance of evidence, context, and perspective, and all provide a way of making interpretations in light of ambiguity and differences in interpretation. This divergence reflects differences in focus and purposes as well as differences in Fake Watches samples and research methods. Whether these differences are subtle or quite distinctive, they show the richness of these conceptual resources in explaining late adolescent and adult cognitive development.

This synthesis illustrates those aspects of cognitive development that emerged in spite of the use of different samples, assessment measures, interpretive frameworks, and even decades of data collection. Although the differences between and among these models are important, relevant, and worthy of being taken seriously, their similarities provide strong evidence that supports that identifiable patterns of cognitive development between adolescence and adulthood exist and that ...
... they are captured by this cluster of models. (See Kitchener, 2002, for a comparison and explanation of models of epistemological development that claim similar sequences among preadolescent samples.)

Fischer (1980) also provided a complementary theory of cognitive development that maps the development of cognitive skills from childhood to adulthood; in this theory, seven skill levels are divided into two major tiers. In the representational tier, an individual can reason about and manipulate concrete representations of categories such as objects, people, and events. In the abstract tier, individuals can reason about, integrate, and manipulate abstract concepts. Kitchener (1982, 2002; Kitchener & Fischer, 1990) has provided several examples of the integration of developmental models using Fisher's skill theory. Although skill theory provides a Rolex Watches rich alternative conception of cognitive development, review of this work is beyond the scope of this article. However, one important contribution of skill theory, developmental range, is discussed below.

Longitudinal evidence for evolution of ways of knowing (Baxter Magolda, 1992, 2001, 2009; King & Kitchener, 1994, 2002; Kitchener & King, 1990; Perry, 1970) consistently portrays slow, steady overall growth in intellectual development that is consistent with the posited sequences depicted in these models during the college years and young adulthood. Unfortunately, there is also a convergence of evidence that few college seniors articulate the complex forms of thinking described in the more advanced levels of any of the models described here.