What can children do in the formal operational stage but not in the concrete operational stage?

What is the Formal Operational Stage?

The formal operational stage is the last of four stages proposed by Jean Piaget to describe the cognitive development of infants, children, and adolescents. Piaget was a developmental biologist who became interested in closely observing and recording the intellectual abilities of children. Piaget proposed that cognitive development progressed in stages and categorized these stages by children’s ages.

Birth to approximately 2 years is the sensorimotor stage. The preoperational stage (ages 2-7) moves from toddlerhood through early childhood. The concrete operational stage is from ages 7-12. The formal operational stage occurs from 12 years into adulthood.1

Piaget recognized that children could pass through the stages at various ages other than what he proposed as normal, but he insisted that cognitive development always follows this sequence and that stages could not be skipped. Each stage marked new intellectual abilities and a more complex understanding of the world.2

By approximately 12 years of age, adolescents enter the formal operational stage that takes them into adulthood. Emerging abstract thought and hypothetical reasoning mark this stage of cognitive development. In earlier stages, children relied on trial and error to solve problems. In the formal operational stage, children have the ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way. They are capable of thinking about abstract and hypothetical ideas that lead to multiple solutions or possible outcomes. Piaget referred to this as “hypothetico-deductive reasoning.” The ability to consider many different solutions to a problem before acting increases efficiency, avoiding potentially unsuccessful attempts at solving a problem.

Thinking becomes more sophisticated and advanced with skills of logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning. Deductive reasoning requires the ability to use a general principle to determine a particular outcome and is used in science and mathematics to solve problems. The ability to think about abstract concepts allows children to consider possible outcomes and consequences of actions they have not yet experienced. This type of thinking is valuable for long-term planning. Children at this stage also develop what is known as metacognition, the ability to think about their thoughts as well as the ideas of others.3

Six new conceptual skills appear during adolescence in the formal operational stage:

1. The capability to mentally control more than two types of variables at the same time.
2. The capability to think about modifications that may occur with time.
3. The ability to imagine rational series of events.
4. The capability of predicting results of actions.
5. The capacity to sense reasonable steadiness or contradictions in a set of statements.
6. The capability to think of themselves, others, and the world in a real way.4

Adolescents are able to think about thinking. At this stage they begin to talk about what they believe and value and about faith and motives.5 They can conceptualize alternative organizations of the world and about deep questions concerning meaning, truth, justice, and morality. Having these lofty thoughts liberates them from childhood and elevates them to think they are equal with adults.6

The formal operational and concrete operational stages are two parts of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Both stages are used to describe a timeline in each individual's life when certain types of cognitive growth take place. In order to fully comprehend each stage, it's important to understand the differences between them.

Age

One of the most fundamental differences between each stage is the age in which they occur. For example, the concrete operational stage usually occurs between the ages of 7 and 11 years. The formal operational stage occurs later from approximately the age of 11 until adulthood. As a result, the formal operational stage involves more complex cognitive development and ultimately transitions into the rest of a person's life.

Type of Thinking

Another difference is the type of thinking an individual is capable of. For example, children in the concrete operational stage are just beginning to form rudimentary logic. During this time, they are learning to classify objects by their physical characteristics such as size and appearance. They are also learning to make inferences but still have difficulty with deductive reasoning. Children in the formal operational stage differ because they are able to perform abstract thinking and can create hypothetical situations in their mind. In turn, these children can make predictions for the future based on knowledge of the past.

Reasoning

When a child is in the concrete operational stage, he is capable of inductive reasoning. This means he can take a certain experience and relate it to a larger, more general principle. A child in the formal operational stage thinks differently because he can take a general principle and relate it to a certain experience. As a result, the mathematical abilities of a child in the formal operational stage are significantly more advanced than one in the concrete operational stage.

Overall Complexity

In addition, the overall thinking of a child in the formal operational stage is much more complex than a child in the concrete operational stage. Once a child progresses into the formal operational stage, he has already laid down the foundations of knowledge and is building on that knowledge. A child in the concrete operational stage differs because he is still learning the fundamentals and laying down the foundations for later on.

What can children do in the concrete operational stage that they could not do in the pre operational stage?

What can a child do in the formal operational stage?

How does a child in the concrete operations stage differ from one in the formal operations stage?

How does a child in the concrete operational stage differ from one in the formal operations stage quizlet?