Formal Operational Stage

The fourth and the final stage in Piaget’s theory is about cognitive development is

the Formal Operational stage. It begins at approximately age 12 and lasts into

adulthood. In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols

related to abstract concepts and it became advanced. Early in the period there is a

return to egocentric thought. Kids can think about abstract and theoretical concepts and

use logic to come up with creative solutions to problems. Skills such as logical thought,

deductive reasoning, and systematic planning also emerge during this stage. Only 35

percent of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations;

many people do not think formally during adulthood.

For example, instead of realizing that there are consequences to actions, such as

getting in trouble or being grounded because of yelling at a parent, a person in this

stage will begin to realize that consequences are a result of not following directions.

More importantly, they will begin to realize that consequences may also result in moral

and ethical issues, such as distrust, emotional instability, and dishonour.

In order to test the way of thinking of adolescence and adulthood, Piaget tested

formal operational thought in a few different ways. Two of the better-known tests

explored physical conceptualization and the abstraction of thought.

In conceptualizing balance, one task involved having children of different ages

balance a scale by hooking weights on each end. To balance the scale, the children

needed to understand that both the heaviness of the weights and distance from the

center played a role. Younger children around the ages of 3 and 5 were unable to
complete the task because they did not understand the concept of balance. Seven-year-

olds knew that they could adjust the scale by placing weights on each end, but failed to

understand that where they put the weights was also important. By age 10, the kids

considered location as well as weight but had to arrive at the correct answer using trial-

and-error. It wasn't until around age 13 those children could use logic to form a

hypothesis about where to place the weights to balance the scale and then complete

the task. In Abstraction of Ideas, Piaget asked children to imagine where they would

want to place a third eye if they had one. Younger children said that they would put the

imagined third eye in the middle of their forehead. Older children, however, were able to

come up with a variety of creative ideas about where to place this hypothetical eye and

various ways the eye could be used. In the two tests that Piaget did, we can see that

the way of thinking of children is way different than adulthood because as we grow older

our way of thinking became more sophisticated and advanced.

There are two formal operational thought, the Hypothetico Deductive Reasoning

and the Abstract Thought. Hypothetico deductive reasoning is the ability to think

scientifically through generating predictions, or hypotheses, about the world to answer

questions. Piaget believed that what he referred to as "hypothetical-deductive

reasoning" was essential at this stage of intellectual development. At this point, teens

become capable of thinking about abstract and hypothetical ideas. They often ponder

"what-if" type situations and questions and can think about multiple solutions or possible

outcomes. And the Abstract thought is important for planning regarding the future.

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability

to think about abstract concepts emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of
relying solely on previous experiences, children begin to consider possible outcomes

and consequences of actions. This type of thinking is important in long-term planning.

There are psychologists who have replicated Piaget’s research, and they

generally found out that children cannot complete the task successfully until they are

older. According to Robert Seigler an American Psychologist, (1979) he gave children a

balance beam task in which some discs were placed either side of the center of

balance. The researcher changed the number of discs or moved them along the beam,

each time asking the child to predict which way the balance would go. He studied the

answers given by children from five years upwards, concluding that they apply rules

which develop in the same sequence as, and thus reflect, Piaget's findings. Like Piaget,

he found that eventually the children were able to take into account the interaction

between the weight of the discs and the distance from the center, and so successfully

predict balance. However, this did not happen until participants were between 13 and

17 years of age. He concluded that children's cognitive development is based on

acquiring and using rules in increasingly more complex situations, rather than in stages.

To summarize Piaget’s last stage of cognitive development, the researcher

conclude that the way of thinking of the people is maturing as their age increasing. They

can think, decide and plan in their own because they are independent and they think

advanced than kids.

Links:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/formal-operational.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/formal-operational-stage-of-cognitive-development-2795459
https://study.com/academy/lesson/piagets-formal-operational-stage-definition-examples-
quiz.html