Eeva Kallio

Integrative thinking is the key: An evaluation of current research into the development of adult thinking

Post-formal relativistic-dialectical thinking has been widely claimed to be a new developmental stage of intellectual development. Other theoretical models come very close to post-formal thinking, with overlapping features such as the study of wisdom and epistemic understanding, as well as models of expertise, critical thinking, and scepticism. No coherent theory exists in the fields of post-formal and relativistic-dialectical thinking, though scholars have claimed that there is some similarity between the models. While empirical evidence of interconnectedness between them exists, a major difficulty lies in the theoretical definition of concepts. We critically assess the definitions of relativism and dialectical thinking and show these to be ambiguous and weakly defined terms. We argue that the notion of “integrative thinking” should be used instead of post-formal or relativistic-dialectical thinking. Integration can be additive or transformative. Transformational integration of various psychological domains seems to be the core component in models of adult cognitive development.

Systematic reasoning: Formal or postformal cognition?

The focus of this study was to investigate the relationship between formal and postformal systematic metasystematic reasoning. Shayers (1978) chemicals task and a modified version of Kuhn and Brannocks (1977) plant task were used to measure formal thinking and Commons, Richard, and Kuhns (1982) multisystem task and balance-beam task to detect postformal reasoning. Subjects were university students from the humanities and social sciences (N=35). For each subject, a composite score was defined by taking into account the highest score in the tasks measuring the same developmental stage. Findings indicated that composite scores of formal and postformal reasoning were significantly correlated. Results also indicated that full formal operations are not a necessary condition for systematic thinking. The developmental status of systematic reasoning should be defined more strictly than has so far been the case. Further studies should focus on metasystematic reasoning as a possible postformal mode of reasoning. Longitudinal designs are also required to assess whether metasystematic reasoning develops in adulthood.

Developmental processes in Adulthood - European Research Perspectives

The main objective of this Special European Issue is to investigate some topical aspects of recent research on adult development in Europe. More specifically, the issue offers a detailed discussion of questions involved in complex forms of adult cognition, scientific thinking, responses to the demands of everyday life, the effects of various life events on well-being, and the construction of an integrated model of the cognitive, social, and personality domains. Theo- retically, the articles are based on various viewpoints such as the neo-Piagetian perspectives on thinking, although others have connections with the Vygotskian approach to learning. In conclusion, we assert that the developmental processes of adulthood should always be viewed multidimensionally, contextually, and holistically, as the articles themselves clearly demonstrate.

University Applicants’ Critical Thinking Skills: The Case of the Finnish Educational Sciences

ABSTRACT This study investigates the quality of the critical thinking skills of applicants (n = 77) seeking entry to the faculty of educational sciences in a Finnish university and how these skills are associated with the applicant’s age, previous higher education experience, and matriculation and entrance examination scores. The data consist of the applicants’ responses to problem-solving tasks and their matriculation and entrance examination scores. Critical thinking skills were measured with comparison and argumentation tasks. The results indicate that comparison of the texts and analysis of the arguments they contained were more difficult tasks than putting forward arguments both for and against of one’s personal standpoint. In addition, previous experience of higher education predicted participants’ comparison skills and their matriculation examination grades predicted their argumentation skills. The feasibility of using critical comparison tasks in the entrance examination tests is discussed.

Transformations Toward Mature Thinking: Challenges for Education and Learning

In this chapter, adult cognitive development and its transformation are explored in the context of a rapidly changing postmodern world. This chapter presents and describes three models of adult cognitive development and their educational implications. The models presented are Basseches’ model of dialectical thinking, Kuhn’s model of epistemological development, and Baxter Magolda’s model of the development of self-authorship. These models are described in greater detail because they present advanced forms of adult cognitive development but also because of the challenge they pose to educational practices. These models open possibilities for understanding educational practices and learning especially in higher education and adult life, as adulthood sets new challenges for the individual’s growth and learning with its own unique tasks and various transitions. In conclusion, it is suggested that integrative pedagogy and integrative thinking are suitable models for education in developing these forms of thinking. Integrative pedagogy and practices require knowledge construction and new ways of thinking. In integrative pedagogy, the learning environments are designed so as to fuse theoretical, practical, self-regulated, and sociocultural knowledge, which in turn enables students to practice integrative thinking.

Study guidance experiences, study progress, and perceived learning outcomes of Finnish university students

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the massification and diversification of higher education have generated new challenges for the guidance of university students. The present study focuses on students’ experiences of guidance in relation to their study progress and perceptions of their learning outcomes. The data (n = 4916) were collected from 2010–2013 through yearly Internet surveys whose targeted respondents were the students of a Finnish University. According to the results, general study guidance was a very strong predictor of students’ self-assessed development of their academic and generic skills as well as working life orientation. It also decreased the probability of slow progress in studies. Significant differences between disciplines were found: the Faculty of Education outperformed other faculties in regard to students’ satisfaction with the guidance and the students’ evaluations of their own learning outcomes. The main result of the study is that guidance can play a significant role in students’ academic success.

An Overview of the Concepts of Change and Development: From the Premodern to Modern Era

This chapter focuses on the concepts of change and progress from the perspective of the history of science and modern developmental psychology. The section on the history of science focuses on the period extending from the premodern Hellenistic era to the Age of Enlightenment. This period is long and inevitably includes several different worldviews and cultural trends. The discussion is limited to the most important and the culturally most significant trends of thought – especially that of the Ptolemaic-Aristotelic tradition. The section on the approach taken by modern developmental psychology analyses the following questions: Which characteristic changes, namely, cognitive ones, must occur for these to be considered developmental? How do developmental and learning theories, based on different philosophical models, view concepts of change and development? How are change and development studied by developmental scholars nowadays? Weak and strong conceptions of development are underlined in particular. In conclusion, conceptions of progress, change and development are discussed by using a classification of world hypotheses and ‘unit ideas’ (familiar resemblances) from the whole of history.

Impressive analysis of meaning-making and symbols

What does the word “symbol” mean? How is it different from the concepts “sign,” “signal,” and other similar terms? In the introduction to Symbolic Transformation, the editor clarifies the major theoretical traditions in which “symbol” has major importance: symbols as resemblance, conventional signs, internalized relations, displaced desire, and group objects. The book is divided into four major sections focused on semiotic foundations, transformations of experience, transformations through the life course, and, finally, transformations of identity. The meaning of the terms is of major importance to the chapter authors, and in this respect, the book fulfills one important function: it is impressive to read strict conceptual analyses of the different meanings. This theme of conceptual clarification repeats itself throughout the entire book: many of the authors try to define the boundaries of concepts, and commentaries are added after each section of the book to encourage further discussion. Also, the chapter authors discuss and reflect on each other’s articles, which creates a feeling of coherence and mutual understanding. At the same time, various viewpoints are discussed and some synthesis is made—or at least some connections are. The study of symbols entails the use of many words, of which some are very abstract. Thus, strict conceptual analysis is definitely needed in order to achieve some agreement on the use of terms such as “sign,” “symptom,” “signal,” “signifier,” “signified,” “representamen,” or “interpretant,” “representation,” and “semiotic object.” Each of them is of importance, but different scholars use different terms. Muller and Carpendale make a good point in claiming:

Book review: Impressive analysis of meaning-making and symbols

What does the word “symbol” mean? How is it different from the concepts “sign,” “signal,” and other similar terms? In the introduction to Symbolic Transformation, the editor clarifies the major theoretical traditions in which “symbol” has major importance: symbols as resemblance, conventional signs, internalized relations, displaced desire, and group objects. The book is divided into four major sections focused on semiotic foundations, transformations of experience, transformations through the life course, and, finally, transformations of identity. The meaning of the terms is of major importance to the chapter authors, and in this respect, the book fulfills one important function: it is impressive to read strict conceptual analyses of the different meanings. This theme of conceptual clarification repeats itself throughout the entire book: many of the authors try to define the boundaries of concepts, and commentaries are added after each section of the book to encourage further discussion. Also, the chapter authors discuss and reflect on each other’s articles, which creates a feeling of coherence and mutual understanding. At the same time, various viewpoints are discussed and some synthesis is made—or at least some connections are. The study of symbols entails the use of many words, of which some are very abstract. Thus, strict conceptual analysis is definitely needed in order to achieve some agreement on the use of terms such as “sign,” “symptom,” “signal,” “signifier,” “signified,” “representamen,” or “interpretant,” “representation,” and “semiotic object.” Each of them is of importance, but different scholars use different terms. Muller and Carpendale make a good point in claiming: