development of post-formal thinking from adolescence through adulthood

this study aimed to examine the developmental trend of post-formal thinking from adolescence through adulthood in Isfahan. The sample consisted of 345 participants in four age groups: 15 to 18 year-olds (n=108), 19 to 29 year-olds (n=142), 30 to 45 year-olds (n=44), and over 46 year-olds (n=51). The participants were selected by cluster sampling answered the Social Paradigm Belief Inventory (SPBI; Kramer, Kahlbaugh and Goldstone, 1992). The results of analysis of variance indicated that there were not significant group effects on SPBI scores. The pair-wise comparisons were significant between 15 to 18 year-olds and 19 to 29 year-olds in absolutistic thinking. Overall, the developmental trend of absolutistic thinking decreased as age increased, and age trends of relativistic thinking and dialectic thinking were constant. The results were discussed based on adult cognitive development theories.