Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

Chapter 13From page 451

Cognitive Development

Cognitive changes of early adulthood are supported by further development of the cerebral cortex› Especially the frontal lobes

Pruning of synapses along with growth and myelination of stimulated neural fibers continue› Though at a slower pace than in adolescence

Cognitive advances are promoted by major life events› Attaining higher education, establishing a career, and grappling with

the demands of marriage and child rearing fMRI evidence reveals that as young adults become increasingly

proficient in a field of endeavor, cortical regions specialized for those activities undergo further experience-dependent brain growth› Structural changes may occur as skill refinement results in increased

cortical tissue devoted to the task› And at times, the brain areas governing an activity may be reorganized

Cognitive Development

How does cognition change in early adulthood? This question has been examined from 3 vantage

points1. It has been proposed that transformations in the

structure of thought occur New, qualitatively distinct ways of thinking that extend the cognitive-

developmental changes of childhood and adolescence

2. Adulthood is a time of attaining advanced knowledge in a particular area This accomplishment has important implications for information

processing and creativity

3. Researchers have been interested in the extent to which the diverse mental abilities assessed by intelligence tests remain stable or change during the adult years

Changes in the Structure of Thought

Piaget acknowledged the possibility that important advances in thinking follow the attainment of formal operational thinking› He observed that adolescents place excessive faith in

abstract systems They prefer a logical, internally consistent perspective on the

world to one that is vague, contradictory, and adapted to particular circumstances

Postformal thought – cognitive development beyond Piaget’s formal operations› Researchers studying postformal thought have observed that

cognitive development occurs beyond Piaget’s formal operations

› As personal effort and social experiences spark increasingly rational, flexible, and practical ways of thinking

Perry’s Theory: Epistemic Cognition

William Perry (1981, 1970/1998) Epistemic cognition – refers to our

reflections on how we arrive at facts, beliefs, and ideas

When mature, rational thinkers reach conclusions that differ from those of others, they consider the justifiability of their conclusions› When they cannot justify their approach, they

revise it, seeking a more balanced, adequate route to acquiring knowledge

Development of Epistemic Cognition

Perry interviewed university students to discover why they respond in dramatically different ways to the diversity of ideas they encounter in college

At the end of each of their 4 years, he asked students “what stood out” during the previous year

Responses indicated that the students’ reflections on “knowing” changed as they experienced the complexities of university life and moved closer to adult roles

Development of Epistemic Cognition

Younger students regarded knowledge as made up of separate units (beliefs and prepositions) › They believed the truth of these separate units could be

determined by comparing them to objective standards Standards that exist apart from the thinking person and his/her

current situation› As a result, they engaged in dualistic thinking – dividing

information, values, and authority into right and wrong, good and bad, we and they Ex. College freshman: “When I went to my first lecture, what the

man said was just like God’s word. I believed everything he said because he is a professor… and this is a respected position.”

Ex. Asked a college sophomore “If two people disagree on the interpretation of a poem, how would you decide who was right?” Response: “You’d have to ask the poet, It’s his poem”

Development of Epistemic Cognition

Older students moved toward relativistic thinking – viewing all knowledge as embedded in a framework of thought› Aware of a diversity of opinions on many topics, they gave up the

possibility of absolute truth in favor of multiple truths, each relative to its context

As a result, their thinking becomes more flexible and tolerant › Ex. College senior: “Just seeing how [famous philosophers] fell

short of an all-encompassing answer, [you realize] that ideas are really individualized. And you begin to have respect for how great their thought could be, without its being absolute.”

Relativistic thinking leads to the realization that one’s own beliefs are often subjective, since several frameworks satisfy the criterion of internal logical consistency› Thus, the relativistic thinker is acutely aware that each person, in

arriving at a position, creates his/her own “truth”

Development of Epistemic Cognition

Eventually, the most mature individuals progress to commitment within relativistic thinking – instead of choosing between opposing views, they try to formulate a more satisfying perspective that synthesizes contradictions

When considering which of 2 theories studied in a college course is better, or which of several movies most deserves an Oscar› The individual moves beyond the stance that everything is a

matter of opinion and generates rational criteria against which options can be evaluated

Few college students reach this extension of relativism Adults who attain it generally display a more sophisticated

approach to learning› In which they actively seek out differing perspectives to advance

their knowledge and understanding

Epistemic Cognition: Importance of Peer Interaction and Reflection

Advances in epistemic cognition depend on further gains in metacognition› Which are likely to occur in situations that challenge young peoples’

perspectives and induce them to consider the rationality of their thought processes

When students tackle challenging, ill-structured problems, interaction among individuals who are roughly equal in knowledge and authority is beneficial› Because it prevents acceptance of another’s reasoning simply because

of greater power or expertise Researchers acknowledge that movement from dualism to

relativism is probably limited to people who are college educated› Because of the many viewpoints encountered in the course of college

study › Also, the most advanced attainment – commitment within relativism –

may require advanced graduate study

Labouvie-Vief’s Theory: Pragmatic Thought and Cognitive-Affective Complexity

Like Perry, Labouvie-Vief points out that whereas adolescents operate within a world of possibility, adulthood involves movement from hypothetical to pragmatic thought› Pragmatic thought – a structural advance in which logic

becomes a tool for solving real-world problems The need to specialize motivates this change

› As adults select one path out of many alternatives, they become more aware of the constraints of everyday life

› In the course of balancing various roles, they accept contradictions as part of existence and develop ways of thinking that thrive on imperfection and compromise

Young adults’ enhanced reflective capacities alter the dynamics of their emotional lives› They become more adept in integrating cognition with emotion

which allows for making sense of discrepancies

Labouvie-Vief’s Theory: Pragmatic Thought and Cognitive-Affective Complexity

Labovie-Vief found that from adolescence through middle adulthood, people gain in cognitive-affective complexity – awareness of positive and negative feelings and coordination of them into a complex organized structure› Ex. A 34 year old combines roles, traits, and diverse emotions into this

coherent self-description: “With the recent birth of our first child, I find myself more fulfilled than ever, yet struggling in some ways. My elation is tempered by my gnawing concern over meeting all my responsibilities in a satisfying way while remaining an individualized person with needs and desires”

Cognitive-affective complexity promotes greater awareness of one’s own and others’ perspectives and motivations› It is a vital aspect of adult emotional intelligence and is valuable in

solving many pragmatic problems › It helps people regulate intense emotion and, therefore, think rationally

about real-world dilemmas, even those that are full of negative information

Expertise and Creativity Expertise – acquisition of extensive knowledge in a field or

endeavor Because it takes many years to master any complex domain,

expertise is supported by the specialization that begins with selecting a college major or an occupation

Once attained, expertise has a profound impact on information processing

Characteristics of experts› Compared with novices, experts remember and reason more quickly

and effectively› Experts know more domain-specific concepts, and represent them at

a deeper and more abstract level and as having more features that can be linked to other concepts

› When faced with a complicated problem Novices tend to use a trial and error approach Experts tend to plan ahead, systematically analyzing and categorizing

elements and selecting the best from many possibilities

Expertise and Creativity

Expertise is necessary for creativity , as well as problem solving› Besides just being original, the creative products of adults must be directed

at a social or aesthetic need› Mature creativity requires the ability to formulate new, culturally meaningful

problems and to ask significant questions that have not been posed before› This movement from problem solving to problem finding is a core feature of

postformal thought evident in highly accomplished artists and scientists Case studies support the 10-year rule in development of master-level

creativity › A decade between initial exposure to a field and sufficient expertise to

produce a creative work Creative accomplishment rises in early adulthood, peaks in the late

30s or early 40s, and gradually declines Those who get an early start in creativity tend to peak and drop off

sooner, while “late bloomers” hit their stride at older ages› This suggests that creativity is more a function of “career age”

than of chronological age

Expertise and Creativity

The course of creativity also varies across disciplines › Artists and musicians typically show an early rise in creativity,

maybe because they do not need extensive formal education before they begin to produce

› Academic scholars and scientists, who must earn higher academic degrees and spend years doing research to make worthwhile contributions, usually display their achievements later and over a longer time

Creativity requires qualities other than being an expert› An innovative thinking style, tolerance of ambiguity, a special

drive to succeed, and a willingness to experiment and try again after failure

Creativity is determined by multiple factors and, when promoted by personal situational factors, can continue many decades

The College Experience

About 2/3 of U.S. high school graduates enroll in an institution of higher education

Most people view their college years as more influential than any other period of adulthood

College serves as a “developmental testing ground”› A time for devoting attention to exploring

alternative values, roles, and behaviors College exposes students to new ideas and

beliefs, new freedoms and opportunities, and new academic and social demands

Psychological Impact of Attending College

Research reveals that broad psychological changes occur from the freshman to the senior year of college› Students become better at reasoning about problems that have no clear solution,

identifying the strengths and weaknesses of opposing sides of complex issues, and reflecting on the quality of their own thinking

College students’ attitudes and values also broaden› They show increased interest in literature, the performing arts, and philosophical and

historical issues, and greater tolerance for ethnic and cultural diversity› Their moral reasoning advances as they develop a concern for individual rights and

human welfare› They develop greater self-understanding, enhanced self-esteem, and a firmer sense of

identity The type of 4-year institution attended – public vs. private, highly selective vs.

relatively open enrollment – makes little difference in psychological outcomes or even in ultimate career success and earnings› And, cognitive growth is just as great at 2-year community colleges as at 4-year

institutions Rather, the impact of college is jointly influenced by the person’s involvement

in academic and nonacademic activities and the richness and diversity of the campus environment

Dropping Out

45% of U.S. students at 2-year institutions and 30% of those at 4-year institutions drop out, most within the 1st year or 1st 6 months

Both personal and institutional factors play a role in dropout rates› Most entering freshman have high hopes for college life but find the

transition difficult› Dropout rates are higher in colleges with less selective admission

requirements› Ethnic minority students from low-SES families are at increased risk for

dropping out› Colleges that do little to help high-risk students have a higher

percentage of dropouts› Students who report experiencing “disrespect” on campus because of

their ethnicity or religion are more likely to drop out Beginning to prepare young people in early adolescence with the

necessary educational aspirations and skills can do much to improve college success

Dropping Out

Reaching out to 1st year college students is crucial to prevent dropout› Programs that forge bonds between

teachers and students and that provide academic support, part-time work opportunities, and meaningful extracurricular roles increase retention

› Young people who feel that they have entered a college community that is concerned about them as individuals are far more likely to graduate

Vocational Choice

Young adults, college-bound or not, face a major life decision: the choice of a suitable work role

Being a productive worker calls for many of the same qualities as being an active citizen and a nurturing family member› Good judgment, responsibility, dedication,

and cooperation

Selecting a Vocation In societies with an abundance of career possibilities,

occupational choice is a gradual process that begins long before adolescence

Major theorists view the young person as moving through several periods of vocational development› The fantasy period – in early and middle childhood, children gain

insight into career options by fantasizing about them Their preferences, guided largely by familiarity, glamour, and

excitement, bear little relation to the decisions they will eventually make› The tentative period – between ages 11-16, adolescents think

about careers in more complex ways, at first in terms of their interests, and then in terms of their abilities and values

› The realistic period – by the late teens and early 20s, young people start to narrow their options They may engage in further exploration In the final phase, crystallization, they focus on a general vocational

category and experiment for a time before settling on a single occupation

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice

A few young people follow a direct path to a career goal, some decide and later change their minds, while still others remain undecided for an extended period

College students have additional time to explore various options, while many low-SES youths face a restricted range of choices

Making an occupational choice is the result of dynamic interaction between person and environment› Affected by personality, family and teachers, and gender

stereotypes

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice: Personality

People are attracted to occupations that complement their personalities John Holland identified 6 personality types that affect vocational choice

› The investigative person, who enjoys working with ideas, is likely to select a scientific occupation (ex. Anthropologist, physicist, or engineer)

› The social person, who likes interacting with people, gravitates toward human services (ex. Counseling, social work, or teaching)

› The realistic person, who prefers real-world problems and working with objects, tends to choose a mechanical occupation (ex. Construction, plumbing, or surveying)

› The artistic person, who is emotional and high in need for individual expression, looks toward an artistic field (ex. Writing, music, or the visual arts)

› The conventional person, who likes well-structured tasks and values material possessions and social status, has traits well-suited to certain business fields (ex. Accounting, banking, or quality control)

› The enterprising person, who is adventurous, persuasive, and a strong leader, is drawn to sales and supervisory positions or politics

Research confirms a relationship between personality and vocational choice in diverse cultures, but it is only moderate

Many people are blends of several personality types and can do well at more than one kind of occupation

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice: Family

Young people’s vocational aspirations correlate strongly with their parents’ jobs› Those who grew up in higher SES homes are more likely to select high-

status, white-collar occupations› Those with lower SES backgrounds tend to choose less prestigious, blue-

collar careers Parent-child vocational similarity is partly a function of similarity in

personality, intellectual abilities, and especially educational attainment

More today than in past generations, number of years of schooling completed powerfully predicts occupational status

Higher SES parents are more likely to give their children important information about the world of work› They tend to use parenting practices that promote curiosity and self-

direction, which are required for high-status careers Parental pressure to do well in school and encouragement toward

high-status occupations predict vocational attainment beyond SES

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice: Teachers

Young adults who choose careers requiring extensive education often report that teachers influenced their choice

High school students who say that most of their teachers are caring and accessible, interested in their future, and expect them to work hard, feel more confident about choosing a personally suitable career and succeeding at it

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice: Gender Stereotypes

Over the past three decades, young women have expressed increasing interest in occupations largely held by men› The percentage of women engineers, lawyers, doctors, and business

executives increased between 1983-2007 in the U.S. but remains far from equal representation

› Women are concentrated in less well-paid, traditionally feminine professions, such as writing, social work, education, and nursing

› In virtually all fields, women’s achievements lag behind those of men

Ability cannot account for these dramatic sex differences› Gender-stereotyped messages play a key role in making girls in

secondary school less confident of their abilities, even though girls’ grades are higher than boys’

› In college, the career aspirations of many women decline further, as they question their capacity and opportunities to succeed in male-dominated fields and worry about combining a highly demanding career with family responsibilities

Factors Influencing Vocational Choice: Gender Stereotypes

Women remaining in the sciences are more likely that their male counterparts to select a health profession over engineering or math or physical science career

Young women who continue to achieve usually have four experiences in common› A college environment that values women’s accomplishments and

attempts to enhance women’s experiences in its curriculum› Frequent interaction with faculty and professionals in their chosen

fields› The opportunity to test their abilities in a supportive environment› Models of accomplished women who have successfully dealt with

family-career role conflict Men have changed little in their interest in nontraditional

occupations› Those men who have chosen traditionally feminine occupations derive

enjoyment and self-esteem from these careers› Ex. Teaching, nursing, and librarians

Vocational Preparation of Non-College-Bound Young Adults

Approximately 1/3 of American young people graduate from high school with no current plans to go to college› About 20% of recent high school graduates who do not

continue their education are unemployed When they do find work, most hold low-paid, unskilled jobs

› American employers regard recent high school graduates as poorly prepared for skilled business and industrial occupations and manual trades

Unlike European nations, the U.S. has no widespread training systems for non-college-bound youths› As a result, most graduate without work-related skills and

experience a “floundering period” that lasts for several years

Vocational Preparation of Non-College-Bound Young Adults

In Germany, young people who do not go attend a college-preparatory high school have access to a successful work-study apprenticeship system for entering business and industry› About 2/3 of German youths participate› After completing full-time schooling at age 15 or 16, they spend the

remaining 2 years of compulsory education combining part-time vocational courses with an apprenticeship

› Students train in work settings for more than 350 blue and white collar occupations

› Apprentices who complete the program and pass a qualifying examination are certified as skilled workers and earn union-set wages

› Businesses provide financial support because they know the program guarantees a competent, dedicated work force

› Many apprentices are hired into well-paid jobs by the firms that train them

Vocational Preparation of Non-College-Bound Young Adults

The success of the German system – and of similar systems elsewhere in Europe – suggests that a national apprenticeship program would improve the transition from high school to work for U.S. young people› The benefits of bringing together the worlds of schooling

and work include helping non-college-bound young people establish productive lives right after graduation

Implementing an apprenticeship system poses major challenges› Such as ensuring cooperation between schools and

business and preventing low-SES youths from being concentrated in the lowest-skilled apprenticeship placements