Piaget's Final Stage

When contemplating the stage of formal operations, I can’t help but juxtapose two common statements: “[They] cant think past go” and “Proper planning prevents poor performance.” Sentences that clearly depict contrasting sentiments and invoke radically opposed trains of thought. Theorist Jean Piaget’s final stage of cognitive development is the stage of formal operations, in which an adolescent “develops logical, deductive reasoning and systematic planning” (Kalat, 2017, p. 159). I am most certainly a planner and people who know me are aware of this. “According to Piaget, children reach the stage of formal operations at about age 11” (Kalat, 2017, p.159). What surprised me is that “Later researchers [conclude] many people reach this stage later or not at all” (Kalat, 2017, p. 159). My experience leads me to agree with Piaget’s theory and later researchers.

I was attending elementary school in the Bronx, New York when my mind evolved towards the age of formal operations. October is my birth month and I was 11 years old during the onset of 1990. Statistically that was the year New York City had the highest murder rate in the country. The Bronx was comprised of various urban warzones and my neighborhood was not immune to violence, or bloodshed. I describe these conditions because they are relevant in understanding how my young mind adapted. In this environment my survival instinct kicked in and I devised a stratagem to maneuver unscathed in a hostile world.

Violence occurred often enough in elementary school, but was limited to fist fights resulting in a busted lip, black eye, or nosebleed. To avoid conflict I remember planning my path home early in the day. I would utilize the different staircases and multiple exits of the school building. Then I would take a different route home daily. People had been shot and killed steps away from the intersection on the block I grew up on. As I graduated to junior high the violence graduated too, and students carried a plethora of weaponry to school. Although I was now being desensitized to committing acts of violence myself, I preferred to avoid conflict, and employed the same strategy to get home — “if it aint broke don’t fix it.”

The reason I evaded conflict outside is because it was impossible to avoid it at home. My dad was abusive and would “lash” my “backside” with his belt, or put hands and feet on me if I came home looking like I just attended fight club. I could not elude my father, so I concocted a different strategy upon arriving home. I would show and prove my homework had been completed, or pretend I had to work in tandem with a class mate. Then escape to the safety of some friend’s house, or apartment down the street. My earliest experiences with planning revolved around avoiding embarrassment and pain, while surviving the day. When I reflect on it now, it was rather shortsighted of me, but death lurks around the corner in every urban warzone. As I got older my planning became more regimented and complex. I started thinking long term and received mentorship that led to my attending a training facility in upstate New York.

For me, planning came naturally, and I believed everyone shared this capability. However, I have come across individuals who seem unable to grasp the concept. I could not comprehend why some chose to approach situations as if it were impossible for them to think ahead. They seemed to act on impulse without any forethought, and this coincides with what later researchers realized. Some people cannot “think past go” because they never attained the cognitive level of development required to reach the stage of formal operations. They exhibit a complete lack of deductive reasoning, and often seem irrational due to their illogical approach. Meanwhile, for most of us, planning our days and our future becomes as natural as breathing. As a result, based on my experience, what I have witnessed resembles what was described about Jean Piaget’s fourth and final stage of cognitive development.

Reference: Kalat, J. W. (2017). Introduction to Psychology. Cengage Learning.