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In this book Jan D. Sinnott synthesizes her 20 years of research on lifespan cognitive development to describe the growth of complex (or `postformal') thought in adults. She shows specifically how adults improve mentally over a lifetime and learn to think in more complex and wiser ways. Applications of postformal thought are demonstrated in such diverse areas as - family relations - adult education - personal identity - and spirituality. Chapters examine relations between postformal thought and pertinent variables such as age, health, memory, and vocabulary. Other sections deal with issues in humanistic psychology such as - guided imagery - mind - body medicine - and creative intentionality.
List of contents
1. Introduction: Creation of a Theory and the Purpose of This Book.- I. The Theory: Description and Development of Complex Postformal Thought.- 2. Limits of Traditional Approaches for Understanding Adult Logical Development.- 3. What Characterizes Postformal Thought?.- 4. Development of Postformal Thought.- 5. New Physics Models Underlying Postformal Thought.- 6. General Systems Theory Underlies Postformal Thought.- 7. Chaos, Complexity, Self-Regulating Systems, and Postformal Thought.- II. Some Research to Support the Theory: Studies of Complex Postformal Thought.- 8. Initial Research: How Do Adults Use Logical Thought?.- 9. Interview and Thinking Aloud Studies: A View of Process.- 10. Age Differences in Processes.- 11. Emotion, Intention, Health, Goal Clarity, and Other Factors in Postformal Thought.- 12. Digging Deeper: A Case Study and Suggestions for Studying Special Subsamples.- III. Applications of the Theory of Postformal Thought at Home and in the "Big Picture".- 13. Applications of the Theory of Postformal Thought to Education.- 14. Reinventing the University to Foster and Serve Postformal Thinkers.- 15. Postformal Thought and Multiperson Groups: The Workplace.- 16. Postformal Thought and Multiperson Groups: Couples and Families.- 17. Development and Yearning: Postformal Thought and Spirituality.- 18. Postformal Thought, Creativity, and Creating the "Self".- 19. Healing Minds, Bodies, Nations, and the Planet: The Value of Postformal Thought.- 20. Some Uses of Postformal Thought in Humanistic Psychology.- IV. The Next Steps: Interventions-Teaching Postformal thinking and Using Postformal Thought to Live in Balance.- 21. Can We Teach Adults To Use Complex Postformal Thought?.- 22. Postformal Thought and Living in Balance.- Appendixes.- A. Measure ofPostformal Thought and Coding and Scoring Guidelines.- Measures.- Coding and Scoring Guidelines.- B. The Narings Liv Project at the Institute for Noetic Sciences...- C. Some Readings in Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology and in Mind-Body Medicine.- References.
Summary
Applications of postformal thought are demonstrated in such diverse areas as - family relations - adult education - personal identity - and spirituality. Other sections deal with issues in humanistic psychology such as - guided imagery - mind - body medicine - and creative intentionality.
