Six conceptual skills emerge during the stage of formal operations. Each one has its own implications for how adolescents approach interpersonal relationships and the formulation of personal plans and goals as well as for how they analyze scientific and mathematical information.
1st skill: Adolescents are able to manipulate mentally more than two categories of variables at the same time. Ex. For planning a trip they can consider the relationship of speed, distance and time.
2nd skill: They are able to think about things changing in the future. Ex. They can realize that their current friendships may not be remaining the same in future.
3rd skill: They are able to hypothesize about a logical sequence of possible events. ex. they are able to predict college and occupational options that may be open to them.
4th skill: They are able to anticipate consequences of their actions. ex. they can realize that if they drop out of school, certain career possibilities will be closed.
5th skill: They have the capacity to detect the logical consistency or inconsistency in a set of statements. They can test the truth of a statement by finding evidence that support or disproves it.
6th skill: They are able to think in a relativistic way about themselves, other individuals and their world. They know that they are expected to behave in accordance with the norms of their families, communities and culture. They also know that different families, communities and cultures have different norms and it is easy for them to accept as member s of other cultures.
Last modified: Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 12:43 PM
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