Adult Cognitive Development Summary

We may look at adult development using two types. One views development as “ladder-like”- it is linear
and changes progresses with one step following another in a single direction with each step being fixed.
as the person develops linearly through these stages (such as Piaget’s model), one may observe forward
progression of cognition. On the other hand, development may be seen as web-like, characterized by a
complex process of dynamic construction. Similar to a web, development does not occur linearly but all
over the place [multi-directional]. Compared to the other, this viewpoint highlights variation in an
individual’s cognitive development, it understands that development may vary from person to person
across different contexts and tasks which may happen simultaneously and not in a single line [one at a
time] like how developmental ladders assume.

Dynamic changes in the web may vary or change depending on the tasks being focused on and within the
same tasks, adults may show multiple levels of cognition- compared to children, they are able to think
more flexibly, dynamically and contextually. Adults can also move across different skills (from more
advanced, abstract thinking to lower-level skills for example] depending on the cognitive demands of the
task. One’s performance varies depending on contextual support, prior experience, and joint action with
other people.

The gap/differences between functional and optimal level highlights the role of environmental or external
support in developing cognitive skills or higher order cognition such as going up to the level of abstract
systems. optimal level reflects within an environment with high support while functional levels are
gradual and builds up over time as the person steadily builds their capability up to a higher level. In
experiments presented, those in lower support conditions had a lesser increase of building
systems/cognitive skills over time compared to higher support conditions who were able to start at higher
levels and eventually develop more sophisticated cognitive skills.

In terms of atomization vs co-participation- the article views automization as an act done at a low level;
co-participation on the other hand seems to be at a higher level. As people are placed in social situations
or settings- they act together. co-participation therefore occurs when people co-construct complex skills
that often go beyond their individual capacity. Similar to children, adults are able to move along tasks
better even those they may not be familiar with or able to accomplish alone, through working together
with others. And upon doing so, level of performance may vary as adults adapt to the situation, goal, task,
emotional state, and co-participants.
Adult skills build upon existing ones developed through earlier years. For example, the dynamic skills
theory summarizes this process through the following progressions: reflexes to actions to representations
and to abstractions. One’s cognitive activity therefore undergoes restructuring as the individual gradually
builds towards concrete skills and conceptual categories. The article then adds, much of adulthood then
utilizes consolidation, elaboration, integration, synthesis, and extension of abstract skills they have been
building towards their entire life. These skills are arranged into a hierarchy consisting of different
levels/tiers with 4 sub-levels. The first one, representations consists of single representations (Rp1),
representational mappings (Rp2), representational systems (Rp3) to which is considered as the optimal
level where core adult functioning occurs because ‘for many activities people need only concrete actions
and representations not sophisticated abstract thinking’, and lastly systems of representational systems
(Rp4) which may also fall on or be considered as part of the next level: Abstractions– Ab1 as single
abstractions. In this sub-level one is able to relate to different explicit instances of representations to an
intangible concept. Followed by abstract mappings (Ab2)- the individual uses one abstraction in
comparison with another which aids in making thinking more precise. Abstract systems (Ab3) involves
coordinating multiple abstractions wherein individuals begin to understand subtleties and nuances. Lastly,
systems of abstract systems or principles (Ab4) which allows a person to coordinate several abstract
systems together. Even with the presentation of these levels, the article stresses how people only remain
or utilize functions found underneath each level when the situation calls for it. ‘People do not act stably at
one skill level’. These levels may be comparable to the stages specified and explained on the development
of reflective and moral judgment. the first stage begins with single representation- in the context of moral
judgment and determining the factuality of something, in stage 1 reponses reflect only an absolute kind of
thinking so it's either right or wrong with no in-betweens or gray area. In its last stage (7) it becomes
similar to systems of abstract systems but in this case what occurs is the ‘formulation of a principle that
strong, justified conclusions rest on their evidence and that different kinds of evidence depend on the
situation and the viewpoint from which they were collected. So with this, reasoning and cognition goes
further than looking at only two absolute perspectives, understanding of contexts and nuances of why
something may perhaps be considered as right or wrong comes into play.

The dynamic web networks may be applied as we take a closer look towards the development of Darwin’s
theory of Natural Selection and how he took single representations from his seemingly simple/small
observations of the world around him to develop an abstract system/principle which we now know of as
his theory. Looking into his journey, we see how Darwin jumped from one level to another and not
linearly as he organizes and reorganizes his ideas to develop it into a singular cohesive thought.
Cognitive Aging in adults debunks cultural stereotypes/beliefs that looks at aging as something that
slowly dumbs people down as they get older which isn't supported by researches in the field but rather
countered. First, Horn and Catell show how gain and loss occurs as the individual ages. While some
intellectual skills such as crystallized intelligence increases and develops with age due to how often they
are used/involved in adult activities; others like fluid intelligence may decline with age. In line with this,
wisdom which is often viewed as something gained through age- is explained by the article as one that
‘requires integration of multiple types of knowledge and skill about practical and ethical issues in human
life’. As the adults age, they may develop their skills depending on the outcomes of their developmental
networks which intertwines their skills and emotions built on experiences which differ from person to
person. The article also talks about the strands of adult identity understanding, making use of Erikson’s
theory and the crises each individual undergoes across each stage. Identity was first defined as ‘a person’s
sense of who she or he is and wants to be, a self-constructed organization of emotions, beliefs, values,
goals, and individual history’. An abstract identity is created through multiple concrete identifications
beginning from childhood.

In constructing this Developmental Web- the article specifies two processes: Backward Transition and
Forward Consolidation. Backward Transition is defined as a ‘movement of activity from higher-level
skills down to a lower-level ones followed by gradual movement in fits and starts back up to higher-level
new skills’. An example given was in constructing new skills, they may break a problem into its simplest
unit to understand it better or to take it apart just to gradually build up better ideas/representations of what
they are perceiving/going through. This process helps adults to perform flexibly and tackle new or
complex problems in innovative ways. The article then includes a summary of the Wuggle Experiment. In
this experiment they saw how a change in task which individuals may have slowly been getting familiar
with and building understanding of, may collapse as this ‘fragile skill’ is challenged by the new situation
thus having to start or rebuild once again. In another study done on students learning computer programs,
they differentiate how backgrounds of the [new] task at hand plays a role in building skills. Bridging was
introduced where ‘people bootstrap themselves to a new knowledge by creating a temporary target or
open-ended shell for what is yet unconstructed’ with this individuals may slowly build on skills even
without having to have full basic knowledge/representations at first- basically building on and filling the
gaps along the way. Forward Consolidation on the other hand was defined as ‘the optimal performance
that comes with high contextual support that is gradually consolidated int functional performance without
contextual support’. When one is unable to sustain optimal level on their own but have enough
recollection of it, they build bridging which eventually helps them consolidate and master higher level
skill despite the lack of support. The article emphasizes the importance of extensive experience in
consolidating unstable cognitive capacities- this instability may be observed through two forms: (1)
development of optimal performance shows sudden jumps and drops, and (2) level appears and disappears
with variation in contextual support. They then explained that ranges of variation observed when it comes
to development of cognitions may be due to one, adults are able to display and make use of wider range of
skills available for their use because they are able to go from elementary sensorimotor actions to far more
complex abstractions. Two, high level abstractions are subject to influences of culture and education
especially in adulthood. Lastly, as adults, individuals may tend to specialize in particular domains
depending on life choices and situations they find themselves in.