认知发展的正式运作阶段

The formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage of让·皮亚杰的理论认知发展. 大约从12岁开始，一直持续到成年。

在发展的这一点上，思维变得更加复杂和先进。孩子们可以思考抽象的理论概念，运用逻辑来创造性地解决问题。逻辑思维、演绎推理和系统规划等技能也出现在这一阶段。

皮亚杰的研究

Piaget tested formal operational thought in a few different ways. Two of the better-known tests explored physical conceptualization and the abstraction of thought.

Conceptualizing Balance

有一个任务涉及不同年龄的儿童通过在每​​一端挂钩权重平衡尺度。为了平衡规模，儿童需要了解到重量和与中心的距离的沉重起作用。

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.

直到13岁左右，孩子们才能够运用逻辑来形成一个假设，即在哪里放置砝码来平衡天平，然后完成任务。

Abstraction of Ideas

在另一个关于正式操作思维的实验中，皮亚杰让孩子们想象如果他们有第三只眼，他们会把第三只眼放在哪里。年幼的孩子们说，他们会把想象中的第三只眼睛放在额头中间。然而，大一点的孩子能够想出各种各样的创意，比如把这只假想的眼睛放在哪里，以及眼睛的各种使用方法。

For example, an eye in the middle of one's hand would be useful for looking around corners. An eye at the back of one's head could be helpful for seeing what is happening in the background.

演绎逻辑

Piaget believed that deductive reasoning becomes necessary during the formal operational stage. Deductive logic requires the ability to use a general principle to determine a particular outcome. Science and mathematics often require this type of thinking about hypothetical situations and concepts.

Abstract Thought

虽然儿童在早期阶段往往思维非常具体和具体，但在正式操作阶段，抽象概念的思考能力就出现了。孩子们不再仅仅依赖以前的经历，而是开始考虑可能的结果和行动的后果。这种思维方式在长期规划中很重要。

Problem-Solving

在早期的阶段，儿童使用试验和错误解决问题. 在正式运作阶段，以逻辑和系统的方式系统地解决问题的能力就会出现。处于认知发展的正式操作阶段的儿童通常能够快速规划解决问题的有组织的方法。

假设 - 演绎推理

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.

While kids in the previous stage (concrete operations) are very particular in their thoughts, kids in the formal operational stage become increasingly abstract in their thinking.

当前观测值

w以下的观察ere made about the formal operational stage of cognitive development:

• 作者：Neil J.Salkind博士An Introduction to Theories of Human Development:“正式的行动思考者有能力在行动之前考虑问题的许多不同解决方案。这大大提高了效率，因为个人可以避免解决问题时可能失败的尝试。正式的操作人员考虑过去的经验、当前的需求和未来的后果，试图最大限度地提高他或她适应世界的成功率。”
• From Christine Brain and Priscilla Mukherji, authors ofUnderstanding Child Psychology: "In the formal operational stage, actual (concrete) objects are no longer required and mental operations can be undertaken 'in the head' using abstract terms. For example, children at this stage can answer questions such as: 'if you can imagine something made up of two quantities, and the whole thing remains the same when one quantity is increased, what happens to the second quantity?' This type of reasoning can be done without thinking about actual objects."