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Developmental Changes In Cognition: An Evaluation Of A Philosophy For Children Program, Leendert Baggerman

Student Work

The formal operational stage seems to differ considerably from earlier Piagetian stages. The first three Piagetian cognitive stages seem to develop fully in all individuals, unless there is a major cultural difference or a major psychopathology (Bruner, 1966). In contrast, there is disagreement in the literature as to whether formal operational reasoning fully develops in all normal individuals. Both Dulit (1972) and Tomlinson-Keasey (1972) found evidence that some normal individuals never attain formal operational reasoning. Others however (Jackson, 1965; Lovell, 1961) agree with Piaget (Inhelder and Piaget, 1958) that the emergence of formal operational reasoning occurs invariably between 11 and …