During the formal operations period, a child is likely to show which characteristic?

During the formal operations period, which typically begins around the age of 12 and continues into adulthood, children develop the ability to think abstractly. This stage of cognitive development, as proposed by Jean Piaget, allows individuals to formulate ideas and hypotheses that are not necessarily grounded in concrete, observable phenomena.

At this point, children are capable of understanding and manipulating ideas that involve abstract reasoning and can think logically about hypothetical situations. This enables them to engage in problem-solving that requires theoretical reasoning, such as considering alternative solutions or predicting outcomes based on their reasoning alone. They can also think about abstract concepts such as justice, love, and morality, which are not directly tied to tangible experiences.

The other characteristics mentioned reflect earlier stages of cognitive development. Limited understanding of concrete events and dependence on sensory experiences relate more to younger children in the preoperational and concrete operational stages, where thinking is more grounded in direct, experiential learning. Moreover, the beginning use of symbols pertains to early childhood development stages where children start using language and symbols to represent objects and ideas, but this is not as advanced as the abstract thinking established during the formal operations stage. Thus, the ability to think abstractly is a defining characteristic of this late stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive