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Knowledge and Cognitive Development in Adulthood

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Miomir Despotovic
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 Andragoške studije, issn 0354–5415, broj 2, decembar 2014, str. 39–60
© Institut za pedagogiju i andragogiju; Pregledni članak
UDK 374.7:159.922.62

Miomir Despotović
University of Belgrade, Serbia

Knowledge and Cognitive Development in

Adulthood
Abstract: This paper considers the possibilities for and mechanisms of cognitive develop-
ment in adulthood with the primary objective of providing an impetus for its alternative
conceptualisation. The analysis covers the classical (Vygotsky and Piaget) and the post-
modern, constructivist developmental and contextualist theories of cognitive develop-
ment, as well as the relevant available empirical research. Despite the significant incon-
sistencies in the analysed theories and the empirical evidence, the results of the analysis
point to the conclusion that significant positive changes in cognitive development can
and do happen during adulthood and that they are founded on systems and structures of
knowledge formed during the individual’s life. The mechanisms responsible for cognitive
development in adulthood are as follows: a progression in the use of systems of meaning
and knowledge, the establishment of a unified conceptual framework for the interpreta-
tion of reality and the intellectualisation of the cognitive space as a whole and of indi-
vidual cognitive functions.
Key words: cognitive development, adulthood, formal thought, post-formal thought,
knowledge networks, reversed developmental trend.

Initial Misunderstanding and Quiet Compromise

The relationship between development and learning, despite its relatively long
and complex history, is still a central theme in theories of development and learn-
ing, including those relating to adults. The theoretical understanding which has
the longest tradition in attempting to explain this relationship is the one promot-
ing the idea that development is a function of external stimuli, primarily learning.
In its embryonic phase this idea was embraced by almost all the Romantics. Its
systematic formation and investigation began with Hegel (1964) and his stance
on the rootedness of the mind in tradition. From Hegel it made its way in some-
what altered form, via Marx and his influence on Vygotsky, to the field of psy-
chology and cognitive development. In Vygostsky’s (1983) understanding of the
40 Miomir Despotović

roots of intellectual development, one should not so much seek within man as
outside him, in his socio-cultural environment and the supports and stimuli this
imposes on him and provides him with. Off course, it is reasonable to presume
that not all socio-cultural variables have a developmental character or the status
of constructor of cognitive abilities and cognitive functioning. A general measure
of their individual significance and value is certainly to be found in the basic
socio-cultural units. Since the symbol (sign) is the basic socio-cultural element,
then what we might call symbolic capacity, that is, the complex of relationships
between meaning and significance which a symbol carries and entails, in an ideal
sense, is the basic measure of value of each individual socio-cultural variable in
cognitive development. The actual measure of that value depends on a range
of factors, but primarily on societal intent and opportunity to continually and
systematically act on the intellectual development of the individual by way of
appropriate organisation of external supports with symbolic content at the fo-
cal point. In other words, education and learning. Classic psychological studies
(Thorndike, 1928; Jones & Conrad, 1933; Wechsler, 1958; Cattell, 1971; Horn,
1972; Ананьев, Степанова, 1972; Schaie & Willis, 1986) already showed that
education, as the most significant model for the social organisation of external
supports, was closely linked with intellectual development.
A completely different understanding of the relationship between learn-
ing and development came from the hereditist tradition, the most significant
representative of which, in the area of psychology and cognitive development,
was Piaget. Learning, according to Piaget (1970; 1983; 1988), is a function of
development, and not an element which determined or explained it. Piaget de-
fined development as a progression through qualitatively differing developmental
stages which were associated with differing ways of imparting meaning to, under-
standing and constructing knowledge of reality. In each stage, appropriate cogni-
tive and logical structures form (mature) spontaneously, allowing the learning or
resolution of different developmental tasks, and culminate in formal thought, i.e.
adult reason.
Among the multitude of theoretical differences and their practical implica-
tions between the Moscow and Geneva psychological schools we can nevertheless
relatively easily observe an unwritten but fundamental consensus – that after
adolescence there is no development, or at least it should not be discussed. Both
for Vygotsky and for Piaget, intellectual development happens in conditions of
dynamic change of the organic type, and as such it is definitely complete in early
youth. The primary consequence of this stance, formulated practically explicitly
by Piaget and only implicitly by Vygotsky, is that the absence of biological growth
detracts from developmental possibilities. This unwritten agreement was very
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 41

clearly articulated by Flavell (1970) in his opinion that due to the lack of physical
maturing there are no further qualitative or universal developmental changes in
adulthood. Claiming that development ended with physical maturing, he gave
currency to the now-forgotten theory of plasticity and in a sense “reconciled”
Vygostky and Piaget since neither one nor the other would have been able to
dispute this in view of the overall structure of their basic theoretical assumptions.

Hints at Cognitive Developmental Potential in Adulthood

Piaget described as “formal operational” the ability to think outside the immedi-
ate, given reality and independently of it. In the formal operational stage, the
individual acquires the ability to think abstractly, to think about the possible
and the probable, to combine different elements of the subject of thought and to
systematically vary them, and to verify the validity of observed and established
relationships. According to Piaget (1972), these abilities are acquired between the
ages of 11 and 12 and between 15 and 20 at the latest. Cognitive structures, at the
centre of which are the processes of imparting meaning to and the construction
and transformation of experience, are invariants which function independently
of the domain to which they relate and the content of the knowledge which they
are processing (Piaget, 1970).
Piaget’s understanding of formal operations is from the gnoseological
point of view entirely acceptable, but from the perspective of the psychology of
cognition and individual cognitive activity it is not without its difficulties. From
a gnoseological perspective, conclusion (cognition) is independent of the content
of the premise from which the conclusion is being drawn; from a psychological
point of view, it is not. The first serious impetus for the revision of Piaget’s theory
came during the 1970s and 1980s from research into the cognitive development
of children. Empirical studies showed that possession of relevant knowledge af-
fected the ability of the child to conserve number and volume, to draw a conclu-
sion, to select an appropriate problem-solving strategy and to adopt a non-ego-
centric perspective (Price-Williams, Gordon, Ramirez, 1969). In some studies it
was established that there was low correlation between developmental tasks of the
same type but differing content (Beilin, 1971), and that grouping operations were
an automatic consequence of previously acquired knowledge (Lindberg, 1980).
It was also shown that small children could successfully solve transitive conclu-
sion problems if they were previously taught the concepts used in the problems
set (Bryant & Trobasco, 1971). This was probably the impetus for Piaget himself
to somewhat revise his earlier position. In his later work, Piaget stressed that for-
42 Miomir Despotović

mal operations were not fully developed by late adolescence or early adulthood
and that their complete development depended on several factors, primarily the
amount and type of environmental stimulation. Entry into the formal opera-
tional stage however depended on ability and professional specialisation, and the
spheres in which they were applied (Piaget, 1972). Adolescents or adults who
were able at the formal level to solve a particular type of task were not able to do
so in other areas of knowledge. The fact that some adults were not able to solve
a large number of the tests which he and Inhelder had prepared was explained
by Piaget as resulting from a lack of interest in and knowledge of mathematics
and the natural sciences (Piaget, 1972). This explanation however did not mean
that Piaget definitely allowed the possibility of further developmental changes
after adolescence and the affirmation of knowledge in thought. This might only
mean that development really did end with formal thought, but that not all those
above 12 years of age necessarily achieved formal thought. Even after this period,
thought for some individuals could remain egocentric in certain areas, unable to
accept any other point of view except its own or to consider differing aspects of
the same situation or problem. In some areas, thought could be arrested at a spe-
cific level, incapable of abstraction, which did not mean it would be so in other
areas and content of thought. However, even this is sufficient to at least show that
formal operations are not invariant, that is, a monolithic ability independent of
the content of knowledge and context. On the contrary, in fact – for higher levels
of cognitive functioning, the possession of knowledge of an appropriate level and
structure are of primary importance. Thought is never devoid of concrete sub-
stantiality, and this means a dynamic system of knowledge and information on
the subject of thought (symbolic capacity). Without the category of knowledge it
is difficult to explain intellectual growth and differences in cognitive functioning,
and success in carrying out operations of the same type but differing content.
Mental functioning is primarily determined by its content (Vygotsky, 1982), its
progression and its foundation. Any attempt to regard operations as something
primal, basic and invariant and to reduce thought to the mechanical functioning
of operations so understood is erroneous at its foundation since the actualisation
of operations is directly dependent on the actualisation of the knowledge they
contain (Rubinštajn, 1981). Popper (Poper, 1991) espoused a similar point of
view, differentiating between thoughts in the sense of mental processes (World 2)
and thought in the sense of content (World 3). World 3 is by all means a product
of World 2, but likewise World 2 is a product of World 3. Recognising the only
partial autonomy of and mutual interaction between these worlds is key to the
understanding of thought and the potential for its development.
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 43

A half-hearted attempt to relativise the influence of knowledge in the cog-

nitive functioning of adults and justify the conviction that formal operations
were the pinnacle and the ultimate stage of development and that after them
there could be no further qualitative cognitive change was seen in the regression
hypothesis. The regression hypothesis expresses the conviction that abilities are
formed through early development, reach their peak during young adulthood
and then begin to decline during middle and old age, with adults “losing” abili-
ties in reverse order to that in which they acquired them. Since the ability for
abstract though is “lost” first, this means that children and the elderly have a simi-
lar level of cognitive functioning (see: Papalia & Bielby, 1974; Whitebourne &
Weinstok, 1979). Although the regression hypothesis has been tested in multiple
studies (Deney & Lenon, 1972; Tesch; Hornblum & Overton, 1976) it seems
that there is no basis for its full acceptance. The aforementioned studies suggest
that the level of cognitive functioning of adults is determined by the type of task
they are solving and the prior experience that they have of this process, and that
nothing suggests the inevitability of regression to lower levels of cognitive func-
tioning with age. As some researchers rightly point out (Hornblum & Overton,
1976), it seems that the regression hypothesis is acceptable only for completely
new and unknown areas and situations, where adults temporarily “regress” to
lower levels of cognitive functioning in order to familiarise themselves with new
material. Once they have done so they are able in future encounters to progress
with it to a higher level of cognitive functioning. Although providing no evidence
of further developmental changes in adulthood, the aforementioned studies have
more affirmed than refuted the significance of knowledge for the cognitive func-
tioning of adults.

The Postmodern Contribution to the Understanding of

Cognitive Development

The first significant theoretical impetus for critical reconsideration of Piaget’s

theories from the perspective of adulthood was given by Riegel (1975; 1976). In
his view, Piaget, with his formal operational stage as a state of final equilibrium or
maximum adaptation to the environment, left no possibility for further cognitive
change in adulthood. Riegel believed that complete equilibrium was not pos-
sible, or rather could only be possible once all personal and historical tasks were
complete. However this never happens, since new questions and problems always
arise within the individual or in the environment, which ensures the continuity
of disbalance and therefore the potential for further development. On the other
44 Miomir Despotović

hand, formal operations – as a closed system of logic in which all elements are
known and can be manipulated – do not adequately describe the mature and
creative thought of an adult, which entails contradiction, ambiguity and incon-
sistency. Formal thought is not sufficient in tackling the relativism and confus-
ing inconsistency of the open systems with which adults are usually faced. Later
theoretical and empirical research showed that formal operations were not the
final phase of cognitive development and that cognitive development did not end
in adolescence or young adulthood. On the contrary, it suggested that adulthood
was a period of further cognitive growth, albeit qualitatively different growth to
that in childhood (Tennant & Pogson, 1995). Two related postmodern theoreti-
cal schools each affirmed the idea that powerful and – depending on the role and
function of the adult – relevant cognitive structures developed in adulthood.
According to the contextualist theories of development, cognitive changes
happen in adulthood which allows the individual to resolve complex life prob-
lems and function in simultaneous, multiple realities and multiple frames of ref-
erence in terms of thought and values. According to one group of such theories
(Basseches, 1980, 1984a, 1984b; Kramer, 1983, 1990; Labouvie-Vief , 1980,
1984, 1992, 2006; Sinnott, 1981, 1984, 1989; Kitchener & King, 1981), after
the formal operational stage, under the influence of the socio-culture context and
of experience, a form of (postformal) thought develops which is based on the
expansion of knowledge and understanding and the employment of its relativistic
and dialectical nature. Labouvie-Vief (2006) suggests that cultural transmission
and organised support are the most significant factors in cognitive development
in adulthood. Although inspired by Piaget, in recognising that the establishment
of mature thought structures is not possible without appropriate social and cul-
tural support, i.e. that the level of complexity of thought is highly correlated with
education, she has moved very close to Vygotsky. Postformal thought is not so
much founded on the bipolar logic of formal operations (right and wrong) as on
the restrictedness, contradictoriness, inconsistency and subjectivity of knowledge
and systems of knowledge. The individual is obliged and able to “bridge” differ-
ing and contradicting “realities” in order to more flexibly and comprehensively
understand the world and to function effectively within it. Summarising the ex-
tensive theoretical and empirical material on postformal thought, Kramer (1983,
1989) singles out the following of its basic characteristics: a) understanding the
relativistic nature of knowledge; b) accepting contradiction to the extent to which
it is part of reality and c) integrating contradiction into an all-encompassing sys-
tem. This suggests that postformal thought is significantly different in quality to
formal thought and that, therefore, development does not end in adolescence
or young adulthood. The terms used to describe this type of cognitive develop-
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 45

ment include: problem-finding (Arlin, 1975, 1984), relativistic thinking (Sinnott,

1984a), dialectical thinking (Basseches, 1980, 1984), relativistic / dialectical think-
ing (Kramer, 1990), metasystemic thinking (Commons, et al., 1989), intrasystemic
and autonomous thought structures (Labouvie-Vief, 1980, 1982), expertise (Ten-
nant & Pogson, 1995) wisdom (Sternberg, 1990; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999;
Kitchener, King & DeLuca, 2006), integrative thinking (Kallio, 2011).
Constructivist theories of development (Perry, 1999; Belenky et al., 1986;
Baxter-Magolda, 2004; Kegan, 1982, 1994) also affirm the idea of continued
cognitive development in adulthood, introducing the variable of the construction
and transformation of knowledge and experience to the cognitive developmen-
tal model for adults. In describing the changes which occur after formal logical
thought, the following terms are most commonly used: epistemological convic-
tions, epistemological reflection, epistemological theories, epistemological forms, episte-
mological assumptions, epistemological attitude, epistemic cognition, epistemological
understanding, epistemic reasoning, epistemological perspective, personal epistemol-
ogy, epistemological orientation, epistemic elaboration, epistemic validation, implicit
epistemology, folk epistemology etc. (see: Hofer, 2001; Briel et al., 2011).
Perry (1999) conceptualised intellectual development as lifelong change in
the frame of reference for the interpretation of reality. This frame changes in ac-
cordance with changes to the epistemic form. Over time, epistemic forms (belief
about knowledge) become more complex, with greater capacity for the explana-
tion, reorganisation and transformation of experience. Perry’s empirical studies
showed that students during four-year courses of study significantly transformed
their epistemic forms and that their intellectual progression passed through nine
stages of development – from dualistic (regarding the world through the right-
wrong dichotomy), to relativistic thinking which culminated in commitments
to an affirmation of their own roles and values in different domains of decision-
making, which comprises the basic structure for dealing with the uncertain-
ties and ambiguities inherent in relativism. According to Perry the final level is
reached at the time of graduation. However, although they all start out as dualists,
the majority do not achieve full and final epistemic development.
For Kegan (1982, 1994), too, development is a lifelong process which
undergoes transformations through five “orders of mind”, ending in the final
stage of dialectical or trans-systemic thought. This level of thought arises from the
need to respond to the demands of life in a postmodern society, the basic char-
acteristic of which is cognitive complexity. The complexity of life roles requires
both the expansion of the store of knowledge and skills (informative learning)
and a change in the way in which we acquire knowledge and learn (transforma-
tive learning). Although greatly inspired by Piaget, to whose genius he devotes
46 Miomir Despotović

an entire chapter in his most significant work, Kegan (1994) in his basic position
on the significance of culture to the development of thought, and on the social
origins of the higher cognitive functions, is very close to the tradition to which
Vygostsky also belongs.

The Interdependence of Knowledge, Age and

Development in Adulthood

Although they emphasise the development of new forms of ability in

adulthood, the theories of postformal cognitive development do not underesti-
mate the significance of formal thought. On the contrary, integral to them is the
strongly-formulated idea that a minimum of formal thought is the basis for full
development in adulthood (Kramer, 1989; Labouvie-Vief, 2006). The concept of
formal thought has primarily been criticised for its neglect of the thinker him-/
herself, who in thinking is imputed with complete “objectivity”, neutrality and a
lack of knowledge, experience and identity. The theories and studies of postformal
thought have drawn attention to the fact that cognitive development in adult-
hood is founded on social experience, life expectations and tasks and individual
worldview, but also on prior educational and developmental achievements.
New and more complex forms and stages of thought are not universal, nei-
ther do all necessarily achieve them. They are rather an opportunity which may
arise under certain conditions, primarily those of high levels of social support
(see: Labouvie-Vief, 2006). The hypothesis of the connection between the level
of education and more complex forms of thought has received significant empiri-
cal support (Kitchener & King, 1989; King & Kitchener, 1994; Erwin, 1983;
Pirttilä-Backman & Kajanne, 2001; Hood & Deopere, 2002). In some studies
a positive connection has been identified not just between the level of education
(lower vocational, higher vocational, university) but also the area of study (tech-
nical, medical and social sciences) and reflective judgement (Pirttilä-Backman,
1993; De Corte, Op’t Eynde & Verschaffel, 2002).
However, education and acquired knowledge and experience are not the
only determinants of cognitive development. Since it occurs over time, cognitive
development is also simultaneously the effect of achieved developmental level
and of age and maturity. Studies of the Piagetian type from the 1970s were al-
ready suggesting that intellectual functioning was dependent on age. Learners
were successful in completing different tasks requiring the same logical struc-
ture at different ages. Conservation of number was mastered at 5-6, conserva-
tion of liquid volume at 7-8, and conservation of weight at 9-10 (Flavell, 1963;
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 47

Brainered, 1970). As regards adults, Perry’s (1999) research suggested changes

in thought processes occurring during the years spent at university. In the initial
years of their studies students think in absolute categories, adopting the relativis-
tic attitude later on, i.e. the conviction that knowledge is subjective. Kramer and
Woodruff (1986) also established that the peak of relativistic thought was reached
during the individual’s forties, followed by more significant use of dialectical pat-
terns of thinking. Other studies have also shown that the ability for post-formal
thought increases with age (Basseches, 1984a; Labouvie-Vief, DeVoe, & Bulka,
1989; Sinnot, 1984b), and that older students in higher education have a dif-
ferent organisation of cognitive patterns to younger students (Blanchard-Fields,
1989).
Since in most of these studies the subjects had completed higher education
or were students, it is possible that age itself is not a significant factor in cognitive
functioning, only that it is reflected in the influence of education or intelligence
level. However some research has shown that the influence of age on relativistic
thought remains stable even when the level of education and intelligence is con-
trolled (Hood & Deopere, 2002).
But the relationship between age and cognitive ability is not absolutely
clear and is certainly “contaminated” by acquired knowledge and experience.
Studies show that age has a negative impact on the cognitive functioning of adults
(vocabulary, memory and spatial reasoning) in the period between 20 and 50
years of age and not just from 50 to 80 as is usually assumed; however the nega-
tive affect of age on cognitive ability is small when the available sum of knowledge
is great, and vice-versa – the negative effects of age are greater if there is a signifi-
cant deficit in knowledge (Schroeder & Salthouse, 2003; Salthouse, 2002). This
model is not, however, final, since there are greatly differing combinations of the
relationship between age and knowledge depending on the stability or decline of
cognitive abilities in adulthood (Salthouse, 2002).

The Mechanisms of Cognitive Development in Adulthood

The tendency for favouritism is the primary cause behind misunderstandings in

the traditional understanding of the relationship between maturing and learning
in development. At the core of the basic dilemma – is development a function
of learning or is learning a function of development? – in the newer theories and
empirical studies of cognitive development, a general opinion has arisen regard-
ing the need for and possibility of a relative balance between the basic develop-
mental influences, especially where the more complex forms of adult cognition
48 Miomir Despotović

are concerned. However, it remains somewhat unclear which mechanisms lie be-
hind this relationship.
Based on the previous review, and the empirical studies which have point-
ed to the role of knowledge in cognitive development, we believe that three pri-
mary mechanisms explain cognitive development in adulthood:
• progression in the use of complex systems of meaning and knowledge,
• the establishment of a unified conceptual framework or system of
meaning and knowledge and
• the intellectualisation of the cognitive system and cognitive functions.

Complex Systems of Meaning and Knowledge in

the Cognitive Development of Adults

Although doubtless of importance, learning itself does not fully determine de-
velopmental potential. Other factors come into play too, primarily those coming
from the area of development itself, the level of development achieved and the
opportunities and abilities to use increasingly complex systems of meaning and
knowledge in thought.
There is a mutual interdependence between development and learning on
the one hand, and the system of external supports and stimuli on the other – a
definite and firm two-way connection. Just as external supports and stimuli en-
able development, so development itself, that is the the achieved level of develop-
ment, allows and requires a quite specific type and structure of external stimuli.
It is clear enough that there is no point in offering steak to a hungry newborn
baby. But it seems that this simple rule – that a stimulus, in order to be effective,
must be acceptable to its intended recipient – is rather difficult to apply to the
understanding of the relationship between development and learning. However
it is of key importance for any effort aimed at systematically impacting cognitive
development. For if the understanding of the impact of external supports on cog-
nitive development is important in attempting to shape it, then understanding of
the action of the achieved level of development on external supports is significant
for the way in which this intention is to be achieved.
External supports (learning) presume the receptiveness, opportunity and
need of the individual to use them and respond to them. Development is a life-
long process only in potential. In reality it is limited by a range of factors of dif-
fering origin, primarily that of success in establishing a correspondence between
the type of external support and the opportunities for its use (the principle of
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 49

availability). Significant cognitive declines come about only when the individual
is unable to find and make use of adequate external supports and stimuli – in
other words learning – or when those offered to him or her – in other words
education – do not resonate with his or her current needs and experience and
cannot be integrated in the individual or significantly transform them. Keeping
in mind symbolic capacity as the basic unit of measurement and the explicit car-
rier of a formative and transformative charge, we believe that the line along which
potential external supports may be used during life begins with and develops
from the simple, emotional and perceptive in childhood and extends to complex
and abstract systems of meaning and knowledge in adulthood. We might say
that the individual, in the use of external supports, owing to continued learning
and the continued integration and transformation of experience, progresses from
the mother’s smile and a rattle to hypothesis and theory. From this potential,
broad range of options, and based on prior learning and achievement, a choice
is made from what is possible and essential for further intellectual progression.
Accordingly, and more simply put, the ambition of lifelong development cannot
be founded on nor can it end with the symbolism of “doggy and kitty”, just as
the earlier stages of intellectual development cannot be founded on complex and
abstract systems of meaning and knowledge. Neither case permits what we call
development, or surpassing one’s own susceptibility and one’s own initial and
prior potential, at the centre of which lies the mechanism for the integration
and transformation of knowledge and experience. This surpassing, which is not
spontaneous, at least not in adulthood, can be achieved only, as Cattel (1971)
would put it, through prior investment. This means that the current level and the
opportunities to use external supports are a function and results of the previous
level and prior opportunities. Since the basis of investment is time, then an arith-
metic progression in the use of external supports of differing symbolic capacity
is expected. For this reason it is very probable that cognitive development, and
intellectual development as a whole, during the individual’s life, comes about
through the use of increasingly complex systems of meaning and knowledge,
and explicit intellectual progress in adulthood, especially where the higher cogni-
tive functions and levels are concerned, can only happen under their influence.
This is what facilitates relativistic and dialectical thought, that is, intrasystemic
and metasystemic thought or epistemological reflection, reasoning and perspec-
tive. Complex forms of thought can only be born from complex knowledge. In
adulthood they develop on a foundation of the internalisation of more or less
structured, organised and interconnected concepts, ideas, theories, attitudes and
facts, and not so much on the basis of the internalisation of universal procedures,
techniques, processes and ways of cognising and thinking.
50 Miomir Despotović

Unified Conceptual Framework – Knowledge Networks

As has already been said, thought is not only expressed though mental processes,
operations and forms but also through the content which is processed within
them. Knowledge and the psychological processes and operations of thought are
connected and interdependent qualities, the unity of which indeed comprises the
phenomenon of thought in its full sense. The measure of development of one is
determined by the measure of development of the other. With maturity and age,
however, knowledge becomes the increasingly dominant thought structure and
the external expression of mental development. One might even say that thought
becomes less and less an operational quality and more and more a conceptual one
with development and age. For this reason we must first and foremost talk about
the development of thought in adulthood as the development of knowledge –
the construction and structuring of conceptual systems. Cognitive development
proceeds primarily as a process and as an attempt to internalise reality in a ra-
tionally acceptable way and to form a unified concept or model of it which acts
as a filter – a deciphering and encoding system through which all information
and content that the individual encounters is passed through and made accessi-
ble. This is a general framework for the reception and utilisation of information,
each separate segment and element of which carries and entails a rich potential
of information about reality and about the assumptions on which it is founded.
The development of thought in adults, in terms of its ultimate scope and form, is
manifested as a generalisation of knowledge, as a qualitative change in the struc-
ture of knowledge and as the creation of a general and relative unified knowledge
network, a relatively coherent system of relations which can be applied to differ-
ent content and information, to make sense of it and give it meaning. Knowledge
networks are not, of course, saturated only with what might be called knowledge
in the classical sense, although scientific and theoretical knowledge is their key
constitutive element. Since adults are under consideration here, who as a rule
have and acquire rich life experience in a variety of domains, they also com-
prise implicit, everyday knowledge and experience which entails all that which
is found between direct empirical knowledge and experience and unwritten but
accepted metaphysical assumptions. Although comprised of diverse and hetero-
geneous content, knowledge networks function as somewhat integrated systems
and structures. Regardless of how complex and “rich” they are, they have limited
scope if the horizontal, vertical and diagonal connections between them are not
of such character and strength that they can be used as a whole. For this reason,
over time and during maturing and aging, these networks are constantly modified
or rebuilt through the process of learning and the acquisition of experience, and
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 51

guided by integration as the primary developmental principle of adulthood they

gradually become generalised, condense their meaning and take on the form of
what Allport (1969) calls a unifying philosophy of life – a clear perception of life’s
goal in the form of an understandable theory or overriding personal principle of
behaviour and thought and accordingly of further growth and development.

The Developmental Shift in Adulthood

The above-discussed understanding of the relationship between development and

the system of external support is however not without its difficulties in terms of
its consistency and coherence. Firstly, one might ask whether cognitive develop-
ment is always purely progressive, and practically delimited only by one’s life
expectancy, considering the arithmetic progression in the use of external supports
and the effects of prior investment. There are other questions: how are chang-
es that are organic in nature involved in cognitive development, and what are
their consequences and their evolutionary course in childhood and adolescence
and their involutional course in adulthood? How can we explain the qualitative
cognitive difference between the same age categories but differing “investment”
categories, and vice versa? Huberman’s (1974) conclusion, based on an analysis
of different studies – that intelligence tests reveal a greater correlation between
people of the same level of education than between those of the same chrono-
logical age – in a way upsets the notion of age as a source of variation in the use
of external supports. But is the fact that the nature of development in children
and adults is completely different not of significance for the learning process and
the use of external supports and further cognitive development? Should the fact
that the use of external supports in childhood happens in conditions of organic
evolution and that it happens in conditions of organic involution in adulthood
be completely ignored? What happens when, over time, the unity of organic and
socio-cultural development which Vygotsky (1972) talks about begins to break
down – when socio-cultural development loses its biological support and when
involutional processes begin to oppose socio-cultural efforts towards further pro-
gress, or at least towards the maintenance of established cognitive structures?
Age is not in itself a motivating force for development, and the function
of external supports in development does not significantly change with the entry
into adulthood. However, as soon as socio-cultural development begins to lose
its biological support, the entire course of cognitive development and the devel-
opmental model change, and thus so do the character and direction of action
of the socio-cultural stimuli which permit further development. The presence
52 Miomir Despotović

of biological support causes development in childhood to progress according to

the model of frontal growth and the gradual differentiation and specialisation of
functions, while the lack of biological support in adulthood gives rise to the in-
tegration of the cognitive functions and abilities. The need for the establishment
of structure, therefore, determines differentiation and specialisation, while the
need for the maintenance and functionalisation of already-established structures
determines the integration of cognitive abilities. In order for existing structures
to be maintained and regression avoided, strong connections need to be estab-
lished between their separate elements and functions. Cognition must function
as a compact whole in order to compensate for the action of general involutional
processes. However, if differentiation and specialisation on the one hand and
the integration of cognitive functions on the other are biologically inspired that
does not mean this is how they are facilitated. Everything which happens within
this general model is a consequence of socio-cultural influences, but their action
greatly differs with regard to the variable of age, which can best be observed at the
level of microgenesis.
Microgenesis, that is, the development of each individual function, re-
quires and selects for a quite specific kind of social stimulus, with selection be-
coming increasingly rigorous or specific with age. This relates to the simple fact
that stimuli to the development of attention are not identical to those demanded
by the development of thought, or are less and less so. Due to the modest initial
potential in the case of thought, for example, owing to the modest symbolic ca-
pacity which may be “absorbed” in the initial stages of development, the external
supports which may be employed are simple structures displaying almost no dif-
ferentiated or specific effects. In the initial developmental stage, the relationship
between external supports and development is governed by the rule, “everything
acts on everything”. Every stimulus, due to general sensitivity and instability, has
a quite general and non-specific action. With age and with further organic chang-
es, the action of external supports becomes increasingly specific, which ultimately
allows for differentiation of functions and for microgenesis. However, due to the
interdependence of functions, the principle of the undifferentiated action of ex-
ternal stimuli is maintained throughout life, although with age and with organic
change of the involutional type it becomes more significant and acts in reverse.
One aspect of Guilford’s (1967) understanding of the intellect is inspirational
for a fuller explanation of this process. Certain intellectual functions, accord-
ing to Guilford, (1967) exist in a hierarchically and cumulatively interdependent
relationship, which means that where there is no cognition there is no memory
either, and without memory there is no convergent and therefore no divergent
production, and without these there is no evaluation as the highest intellectual
Andragoške studije, 2/2014 53

ability. The microgenesis of the higher functions is founded on the microgenesis

of the preceding functions, where the non-specific effect of external stimuli pro-
gresses from the lower to the higher intellectual functions. This means that the
non-specific effects of stimuli on the development of cognition is somewhat rele-
vant to the development of memory and other higher functions. As development
progresses and the functions change qualitatively, demanding increasingly more
specific and direct stimuli for their development, the influence of non-specific
action is increasingly lost. With age and the onset of involutional processes which
inspire the integration of the intellect, non-specific action becomes evident again,
however now it proceeds from the higher to the lower intellectual functions. This
means that what is not relevant for the development of cognition is not relevant,
or is increasingly less relevant for the development of thought; however, what is
relevant for the development of thought becomes relevant to the development of
cognition to a significant extent. The hierarchical, cumulative, dependent nature
of the intellectual functions permits and facilitates the multidirectional effects of
individual socio-cultural stimuli in the opposite direction, but only under the
influence of a kind of implosion of their internal structure and organisation. This
shift in the use of external supports with age becomes increasingly apparent and
is particularly strongly expressed in the period of integration, which it directly
facilitates. Microgenesis in its classical form, i.e. autonomous development, and
therefore the autonomy of individual functions, become less and less possible,
and the measure of the development of the lower intellectual functions is deter-
mined by the degree of development of the higher intellectual functions. For this
reason the significance of the development of thought for the development of all
the other intellectual functions grows with age. The essence of the developmental
shift, which begins with the entry into adulthood, can be seen in the fact that
thought begins to intellectualise all the other cognitive functions, which means
that in establishing and devising connections between them it facilitates their
individual development and the creation of a unified structure of the intellect.

Conclusion

Although an unwritten agreement has been established between the classical de-
velopmental theories (Vygotsky and Piaget) that there is no cognitive develop-
ment in adulthood, these theories have been inspirational to empirical research
and the formation of new theories which have indicated the need to revise this
initial and fundamental conviction. It has been shown that different forms and
levels of postformal thought are possible in the post-adolescent period and that
54 Miomir Despotović

there are significant limitations for any attempt to favour organic or socio-cultur-
al influences on cognitive development. Both the organic and the socio-cultural
in human development are found in the complex relationship between figure and
ground and each cannot be isolated and considered without the other. What con-
nects organic and socio-cultural influences is the system and structure of meaning
and knowledge, which suggests that knowledge cannot be eliminated from the
attempt to cognise and to acquire the ability to cognise. This connection happens
on a foundation of progression in the use of complex systems of meaning and
knowledge, which results in the establishment of a unified conceptual framework
for the interpretation of reality and the intellectualisation of the cognitive system
and individual cognitive functions.

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Andragoške studije, 2/2014 59

Miomir Despotović
Univerzitet u Beogradu, Srbija

Znanje i kognitivni razvoj u odraslom dobu

Apstrakt: U radu se razmatraju mogućnosti i mehanizmi kognitivnog razvoja u odraslom
dobu sa osnovnim ciljem da se podstakne traganje za njegovom drugačijom konceptuali-
zacijom. Analiza obuhvata klasične (Vigotski i Pijaže) i postmoderne, konstruktivističko
razvojne i kontekstualističke teorije kognitivnog razvoja, kao i relevantna dostupna em-
pirijska istraživanja. Bez obzira na značajnu inkonzistentnost analiziranih teorija i em-
pirijske evidencije, rezultati analize upućuju na zaključak da su moguće i da se dešavaju
značajne pozitivne promene u kognitivnom razvoju tokom odraslog doba u čijoj osnovi
se nalaze sistemi i strukture znanja koji se oblikuju tokom života. Mehanizmi odgovorni
za kognitivni razvoj u odraslom dobu su progresija u korišćenju kompleksnih sistema
značenja i znanja, uspostavljanju jedinstvenog konceptualnog okvira za tumačenje i in-
terpretaciju realnosti i intelektualizacija celokupnog kognitivnog prostora i pojedinačnih
kognitivnih funkcija.
Ključne reči: kognitivni razvoj, odraslo doba, formalno mišljenje, post-formalno mišlje-
nje, mreže znanja, obrnuti razvojni trend.
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