Cognitive Development

Abstract

This article provides a historical and conceptual overview of research on adolescent cognitive development. Three phases of the research are described. The first focused on detailed tests of Jean Piaget's theory of formal operations, which identified changes in logical structure as the central cognitive change of adolescents. Although many core ideas from the theory continue to influence the field, the body of research did not provide support for the major empirical claims of the theory. Major convergent findings at the descriptive level arising from this research are described. The second phase of research focused on competing models of cognitive development in adolescence, including models of human information processing, models of knowledge acquisition and expertise, and dual process models that focus on the balance between analytic reasoning and heuristic processes, which are characterized as more experientially based and more automatic, as well as more prone to social and emotional influences. Although none of these competing models has prevailed in identifying a central driver of adolescent cognitive shifts, they have substantially enhanced our understanding of multiple features of adolescent cognition. The third and contemporary phase of research has focused on models that integrate the findings across these multiple models of cognitive development in adolescence, an effort that has been informed by findings emerging from developmental neuroscience that describe patterns of brain development which resonate strongly with many current findings from cognitive science.