Emerging Adulthood: Cognitive Development - Key Questions

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Growth & Development

Emerging Adulthood
Cognitive Development
- Key Questions -

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult. - Sigmund Freud -

1. What are the three approaches to the study of adult cognition?

2. What are the main characteristics of postformal thinking?

3. How does the emotional intensity of a problem affect the reasoning ability of individuals of different ages?

4. What is stereotype threat, & how can cognitive flexibility help a person overcome it?

5. Describe an example of dialectical reasoning like the one in the text about the end of a love affair. Identify the thesis, antithesis, & synthesis in your example.

6. Is post formal thinking a stage in the Piagetian sense of the term? Why or why not?

7. How has cultural background been found to affect cognition?

8. How does the moral thinking of adults differ from that of children and adolescents? Why?

9. According to research, how does a college education affect the way people think?

10. What are the main differences between college students today & 30 years ago?

11. How might significant life events affect cognitive development?

12. In your experience what changes have you noticed in your values or thought processes between the time you entered college and now?

Growth & Development
Robert C. Gates