Formal Operations from a Twenty-First Century Perspective

Abstract

The author reflects on Piaget’s 1972 article, ‘Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood,’ addressed to questions regarding what he alleged to be the final, most advanced level of cognition in his developmental stage theory – formal operations, as described in his 1958 volume coauthored with Inhelder, The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. It is asked here whether, from a contemporary perspective, Piaget’s ideas regarding formal operations appear to have been right, and whether they have any current relevance, in particular concerning how best to support the development of intellectual potential during the second decade of life.