Reports a study of 922 college students that classified the students based on performance on formal operational reasoning tasks. Students were also administered seven logic tasks. Response patterns were analyzed and found to be similar to patterns derived from the multiple-hypothesis theory of advanced scientific reasoning and different from those…

Students (n=46) were assigned to one of three instructional groups (descriptive, question design, and hypothesis testing) to test the hypothesis that descriptive learning cycles are not sufficient to stimulate students to reason at a formal operational level. Analyses indicated that the hypothesis-testing group exhibited a significant increase on…

Two years after the end of a two-year intervention program set within the context of science learning intended to promote formal operational thinking, achievement of students (n=234) was tested by their results on British National examinations taken at age 16. Male experimental subjects achieved an average of 40 percent more grades of C or above…

The five formal operational reasoning modes in the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking were found to be statistically significant predictors of critical thinking abilities as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and were significant predictors of science and mathematics grades. (PR)

Reports a study that analyzes the importance of individual difference variables in explaining subject performance in formal reasoning in 72 first-year college students. (PR)

Three years after end of 2-year intervention program intended to promote formal operational thinking, achievement of students initially age 11 was tested by their results on British National examinations, taken at age 16 (experimental group n=88, control group n=103). In comparison with control classes, the effect size for science was 0.67,…