Jean Piaget described four stages of cognitive development : the sensorimotor, the pre-operational, the concrete operations and the formal operations. Each of these periods is characterized by the use of progressively more complex cognitive operations.

Although this author stated that cognition reaches its final stage in adolescence , other theorists consider that there is also post-formal thinking , a fifth stage of cognitive development characterized by the ability to relativize, assume contradiction and synthesize opposing elements.

Formal thinking according to Piaget

For Jean Piaget, pioneer of evolutionary psychology and author of the most popular theory on cognitive development, this reaches its culmination when concrete thinking is abandoned and formal thinking is consolidated, that is, the ability to think abstractly.

This implies that when you reach this stage, which usually happens between the ages of 11 and 15, you not only work with concrete, tangible and reality-based elements, but also with hypotheses and possibilities. In addition, skills are developed that allow for the adoption of perspectives other than one’s own.

Formal thought has a hypothetical-deductive character , that surpasses the empiricism characteristic of the stage of concrete operations; in this way, reality is understood as a subset of the possible, unlike in the previous period, in which the possible is seen as a prolongation of the real.

Piaget and his collaborator Bärbel Inhelder stated that formal thought is based on verbal statements (propositional thought), rather than on concrete objects. Since the flexibility of language is much greater than that of matter, this type of thinking greatly increases cognitive and communicative possibilities.

Later on, different authors questioned and clarified the original concept of formal thought. Thus, today it is believed that not all people reach this stage, that this can happen at any age and only in the tasks in which we specialize, and that there may be another type of reasoning even more advanced: postformal thinking.

Characteristics of Postformal Thinking

Representatives of different theoretical orientations, especially of dialectical and life-cycle psychology, have proposed the existence of postformal or dialectical thinking, which is conceptualized as a stage subsequent to that of formal operations.

Unlike formal thinking, post-formal thinking would allow the integration of the subjective, the emotional and the symbolic with the logical, analytical and objective components of the previous period. As a consequence, there would be a complexation of cognitive operations, which would work in a less literal and rigid way than in the case of formal thinking.

Three basic characteristics of post-formal thinking have been described: the relativism of knowledge, the acceptance of contradiction and the synthesis between discordant elements.

Relativism

Formal thinking tends to be dichotomous; thus, for example, people are often categorized as “good” or “bad”, and statements are understood as either absolute truths or lies, with no intermediate points.

However, the interaction with other people, the adoption of multiple roles and the acquisition of new information favour the awareness of the fact that there are multiple truths that depend on the point of view , which is strongly influenced by personal history, and the context from which they are observed.

Thus, this trend leads to less attention being paid to what is supposed to be “the truth”, and the focus is on the type of narratives adopted to explain it.

2. Contradiction

Once the relativistic thought appears, the contradiction is accepted as a natural aspect of life. Apparently incompatible phenomena can coexist, both in the perception of reality and in living beings and objects.

Thus, anyone can be “good” and “bad” simultaneously, following the example above. The complex nature of reality is accepted, and the idea that there are different ontological realities that overlap is internalized.

Several authors argue that the acceptance of contradiction is the most characteristic feature of adult thought, and that usually develops during middle age . However, interindividual variability is high, so it can also happen earlier or later.

3. Synthesis or dialectics

Because they assume relativism and contradiction as natural aspects of human experience, people who use postformal thinking can integrate (or synthesize) contradictory mental content, both at the cognitive and emotional levels.

During this stage there is a continuous dialectic in thought, so that all ideas are compared and synthesized with their opposites and with other different experiences. This allows for a higher and more flexible reasoning capacity than that which characterises formal thinking.

Developmental stage or thinking style?

Although those who defend the concept of postformal thinking usually define it as a stage of cognitive development that, as its name indicates, appears after the stage of formal operations, for the time being scientific research has not confirmed this hypothesis .

Although it is true that the defining characteristics of postformal thinking manifest themselves more often the older the person is, not all people who develop normally reach this cognitive period. In fact, not even everyone manages to progress from the stage of concrete operations to that of formal ones.

Furthermore, scientific evidence shows that some people who have not reached the formal period show a relativistic thinking. It has been hypothesized, therefore, that postformal thinking is a style of reasoning consisting of a set of metacognitive skills that can be acquired after maturation , and not necessarily a stage of development.