Post-formal thinking: the development beyond Piaget

Some authors have proposed the existence of this type of complex mental operations.

Jean Piaget described four stages of cognitive developmentThe sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations. Each of these periods is characterized by the use of progressively more complex cognitive operations.

Although this author affirmed that cognition reaches its final stage in adolescence, other theorists consider that there is also post-formal thinking, a fifth stage of cognitive development.a fifth stage of cognitive development characterized by the ability to relativize, assume contradiction and synthesize opposing elements.

Formal thinking according to Piaget

For Jean Piaget, pioneer of the evolutionary psychology and author of the most popular theory on cognitive development, cognitive development reaches its culmination when concrete thinking is abandoned and formal thinking is consolidated, that is, the ability to think abstractly.

This implies that when this stage is reached, which generally occurs between the ages of 11 and 15, not only do we work with concrete, tangible elements based on reality, but also with hypotheses and possibilities. In addition, skills are developed that allow the adoption of perspectives other than one's own.

Formal thinking has a hypothetical-deductive character.Thus, reality is understood as a subset of the possible, as opposed to the previous period, in which the possible is seen as an extension of the real.

Piaget and his collaborator Bärbel Inhelder stated that formal thinking is based on verbal statements (propositional thinking), rather than on concrete objects. Since the flexibility of language is much greater than that of matter, this type of thinking greatly increases cognitive and communicative possibilities.

Subsequently, different authors questioned and nuanced the original concept of formal thinking. original concept of formal thinking. Thus, today it is believed that not all people reach this stage, that this can happen at any age and only in the tasks in which we specialize, and that there may be another type of even more advanced reasoning: post-formal thinking.

Characteristics of postformal thinking

Representatives of different theoretical orientations, especially dialectical and life-cycle psychology, have proposed the existence of post-formal or dialectical thinking, which is conceptualized as a stage subsequent to that of formal operations.

Unlike formal thinking, postformal thinking would allow the integration of the subjective, the emotional and the symbolic with the logical, analytical and objective components of the previous period. As a consequence, there would be a complexization of cognitive operations, which would function in a less literal and rigid way than in the case of formal thinking.

Three basic characteristics of post-formal thinking have been described: the relativism of knowledge, the acceptance of contradiction and the synthesis between discordant elements.

Relativism

Formal thinking tends to be dichotomous; thus, for example, people are often categorized as "good" or "bad," and statements are understood as either absolute truths or lies, with no middle ground.

However, the interaction with other people, the adoption of multiple roles and the acquisition of new information favor the awareness that there are multiple truths that depend on the point of view of the person. that there are multiple truths depending on the point of view, strongly influenced by personal history.The interaction with other people, the adoption of multiple roles and the acquisition of new information favor the awareness that there are multiple truths depending on the point of view, which is strongly influenced by personal history, and the context from which they are observed.

Thus, this tendency means that less attention is paid to what is supposed to be "the truth", and attention is focused on the type of narratives that are adopted to explain it.

2. Contradiction

Once relativistic thinking appears, contradiction becomes accepted as a natural aspect of life. Apparently incompatible phenomena can coexist, both in the perception of reality and in living beings and objects.

Thus, any person can be "good" and "bad" simultaneously, following the previous example. The complex nature of reality is accepted, and the idea that there are different ontological realities that overlap is internalized.

Several authors argue that the acceptance of contradiction is the most characteristic feature of adult thinking, and that it usually develops during middle age. tends to develop during middle age. However, interindividual variability is high, so it can also occur earlier or later.

3. Synthesis or dialectics

Since they assume relativism and contradiction as natural aspects of human experience, people who use postformal thinking can integrate (or synthesize) contradictory mental contents, both cognitively and emotionally.

During this stage there is a continuous dialectic in thought, so that all ideas are compared and synthesized with their opposites. ideas are compared and synthesized with their opposites and with different and with other different experiences. This allows for a higher and more flexible reasoning capacity than that which characterizes formal thinking.

Developmental stage or style of thinking?

Although those who defend the concept of post-formal thinking usually define it as a stage of cognitive development that, as its name indicates, appears after the stage of formal operations, for the time being scientific research has not confirmed this hypothesis.

Although it is true that the defining characteristics of postformal thinking manifest themselves more frequently with increasing age, not all normally developing individuals reach this cognitive period. In fact, not even everyone succeeds in advancing from the stage of concrete operations to that of formal operations.

Moreover, scientific evidence shows that some people who have not reached the formal period show relativistic thinking. It has been hypothesized, therefore, that postformal thinking is a style of reasoning consisting of a set of metacognitive skills that can be acquired after maturation, and not necessarily a stage of development.and not necessarily a stage of development.