Development and Reasoning by Pierre Barrouillet, Henry Markovits - 9781138372375

Taylor & Francis

Development and ReasoningA Special Issue of Thinking and Reasoning\nAuthor(s): Pierre Barrouillet, Henry Markovits\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Psychology Press Ltd\nISBN-13: 9781138372375, 978-1138372375\nSynopsis\nThe study of deductive reasoning is one of the key areas in cognitive psychology. Much of the initial impetus for studies in this field came from a developmental perspective, in particular as a consequence of Piaget's theory of formal operations. Subsequent research that examined some of the predictions of this theory has led to what appear to be quite contradictory conclusions. On the one hand, reasoning is held to be a very precociously acquired, if not innate, competence, such that very young children can reason 'logically'. On the other hand, reasoning in adults has been found to be so convincingly 'illogical' that the very notion of logical competence, even in educated adults has been put into question. Clearly, the.