What Do You Believe About People?

We have beliefs about many things. 

These may be 'black and white' polarities. 

They may also range along a spectrum between the two ends. 

What I (you) believe about people will drive how I (you) behave towards them.

Intent: concerned for others vs. concerned for self

This is the belief about how basically selfish people are. A balance between these two concerns leads to the Care-Behavior Matrix.

The Collaborator
If we believe in the rights of people to be cared for, that we have a duty of care towards them, and also believe that others are trustworthy and caring, then we will seek to collaborate and work together with them.
The Collaborator is the opposite of the Independent. They make good team players and can become very frustrated when working with Users and Independents.

The Nurturer
If we believe in the rights of people to be cared for and that we have a duty of care towards them, but that they do not care about others, then we will try to be helpful and guide them in their actions (perhaps even if they do not want help).
The Nurturer is the opposite of the User. When Users and Nurturers work together, the Nurturer can become a victim.

The User
If we believe that people have no rights to be cared for, but that others are trustworthy and caring, then we may seek to take advantage of this. We may stereotype or depersonalize them as we seek to absolve ourselves of any guilt about this.
The User is the opposite of the Nurturer and when they work together, the User may become a bully or callously take advantage of the Nurturer's good faith.

The Independent
If we do not believe in the rights of people to be cared for, and that others do not care about us, then we will go our own way and generally ignore others.
The Independent is the opposite of the Collaborator and will usually prefer to work alone rather than in teams.

Concern for others

I can believe that people are basically good and kind and have a natural tendency to help others. People who believe this way are likely to be trusting and trustworthy. They may also be naive and open to unprincipled persuasion.

Concern for self

I can believe that we are all basically selfish, and all actions are self-motivated. People who see the world in this Machiavellian way will not trust others and will manipulate the world for their own ends. They may even interpret pro-social, helpful actions as for the purpose of making me feel good.

Capability: natural talent vs. ability to learn

Natural talent

This is also called Trait Theory. It assumes that people are born with particular talents and abilities and that there is no point trying to change these.

This was popular in the early years of psychological theories and then was scotched when the complexity of people, the (particularly Freudian) effects of early development and their ability to learn was considered. More lately, it has return in the guise of Behavioral Genetics.

If people in organizations believe more in natural talent, this increases significantly the importance of recruitment and decrease the importance of training and development.

If I believe that I have some talents and not others, then I am less likely to seek to learn and more likely to try to live based on what I can already do and what I believe I know.

Ability to learn

I can believe that, by and large, we all have similar talent, and that the question of ability is more about learning. All people are seen as 'learning machines' and the focus is more often rather on whether we can learn but our preferred learning style.

If people in organizations believe more in our capability to learn, this increases significantly the importance of training and development and decrease the importance of recruitment.

If I believe that I can develop through learning, I will be more likely to seek higher education and take an approach of 'life-long learning'.

Intelligence: Fixed ability vs. Growth mindset

Similar to nature-nurture capability beliefs, this is often a personal belief: Am I as clever as I am or can I become more intelligent. as with other beliefs, each creates a self-fulfilling prophesy whereby a person grows intellectually or not. (Research, by the way, has shown that around half of your 'intelligence' is inherited and half is about what you do).

Fixed ability

The fixed ability belief is that we have a certain intelligence and ability and are unable to change this.

It has been found that children who are praised as being 'clever' tend to take on less risky challenges as they do not want to lose this 'intelligent' tag. 

Growth mindset

In contrast to the fixed viewpoint, a person with the 'growth' mindset believes that if they work hard they will become more and more clever.

Children who are praised as 'working hard' take on more challenging tasks, in contrast with those who were praised for being clever.

TJ

Lazarus: Multimodal Basic I.D.

IF YOU ARE A COLLEGE STUDENT BE SURE YOU DO NOT COPY THIS. IT BELONGS TO ME, AND IT WILL SHOW UP IN A PLAGIARISM CHECK! BE SURE TO CITE IT CORRECTLY. JUST TRYING TO HELP.

Multimodal Approach

Multimodal therapy, as described by Lazarus himself, is not a systematic approach. Lazarus claims it is anything but a standardized treatment. However, it can be described as, “an open system that encourages technical eclecticism” (Corey, 2009). Jogging and group therapy, within the multimodal approach, seems to be a “normal” eclectic combination. The multimodal approach is interdisciplinary in nature and focuses on using multiple approaches to achieve overall wellness. The combination of jogging and group therapy, although very different activities, based on the idea that physical exercise is an important element that contributes to the ability of people to perform better in all areas of life. This combination falls right in line with multimodal principles,

“The underlying assumption of this approach is that because individuals are troubled by a variety of specific problems it is appropriate that a multitude of treatment strategies be used in bringing about change” (Corey, 2009).

Corey explains that activity tends to be a common denominator with those who engage in the multimodal approach. The multimodal therapist functions, “as trainers, educators, consultants, and role models” (Corey, 2009).

Jogging and Group Counseling

There is a positive behavioral conditioning aspect that comes into effect when people can see the benefits of the physical activity and in turn relate those results with the expectations of the group therapy outcome. The correlation should be if one is improving the way they feel physically, they should expect the same results psychologically as well. This is what Lazarus refers to when he uses the term reciprocal determinism. The use of jogging and group therapy together achieves the connection that Lazarus refers to as a reciprocal transaction. Why is it important to understand the concept of multimodal therapy? Because the multimodal approach sees all modes of therapy as important, and that those modes can be carefully joined together in combinations to reach more desirable and effective results.

The Physical activity of jogging should, in this case, lower the defenses when the group meets together to discuss the issue at hand due to a transfer of their physical and psychological energy into the group.

Basic I.D.

Lazarus posited that personality could be divided into seven main categories of human functioning. These areas are behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationship, and drugs/biology. He called it the Basic I.D. What does the combination of jogging and group therapy look like using Basic I.D.?

B – Behaviors

Behavior is a product of learning, and the multimodal approach emphasizes that there is, “a major link between some behavioral principles and the cognitive behavioral approach” (Corey, 2009). The link between jogging and group therapy could be summed up succinctly by saying that a change in psychological wellbeing can come from improvement of their health through learning the value of exercise.

A – Affect

Affect describes the emotions, moods, and strong feelings associated with behavior. Within the context of this writing, better physical wellbeing can improve the emotional state. When someone feels better they generally have a more positive outlook as well.

S – Sensation

Sensation describes the basic senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Physical activity often heightens the senses by increased respiration, perspiration, and cardiovascular activity. The increased activity through the bodily response can have the effect of increased mental activity as well.

I – Imagery

Imagery is how we see ourselves. In this scenario improved body image through the use of exercise should correlate to an overall improved mental self-image.

C – Cognition

Cognitions are, “the insights, philosophies, ideas, opinions, self-talk, and judgments that form attitudes, values, and beliefs” (Corey, 2009). Positive imagery in this scenario should have a positive effect on someone’s attitude. When gathered for group therapy following the period of jogging, a person can be more inclined to be open and transparent due to the improved attitude.

I - Interpersonal Relationship

Interpersonal Relationship is how someone interacts with others. Jogging together prior to meeting together in group therapy could improve social intimacy between the group members due to improved cohesiveness through engaging in group activities prior to discussing issues.

D – Drugs/Biology

This includes, “drugs, and nutritional habits, and exercise patterns” (Corey, 2009). In this scenario it is possible to connect physical wellbeing with mental/cognitive wellbeing.

Conclusion

When looking at how to approach group therapy, the multimodal approach seems to be a very valuable idea in spite of the premise (about the approach), “that breadth is often more important than depth” (Corey, 2009) It is valuable because “the more coping responses a client learns in therapy, the less are the chances for relapse” (Corey, 2009).

Works Cited:

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Thompson/Brooks/Cole.

Lazarus, A. (n.d.). Lazarus-Multimodal-Therapy. Retrieved February 6, 2012, from Psychotherapy.net: http://www.psychotherapy.net/video/lazarus-multimodal-therapy

Root Principle

Having and using a right standard of why we do what we do is important to sound judgment and understanding who we are and why we do what we do. Without a right standard we will be susceptible to the fundamental attribution error.

 Measuring ourselves, our values, and our behaviors using our situation, and excluding our personality traits is equally as dangerous as others judging us by using our personality traits to the exclusion of situational factors in our lives.

The root of just about all of the principles in social psychology usually comes in the form of cognitive bias called the fundamental attribution error. It reveals how people tend to consider their own behavior in a different, biased, way from the way they perceive the behavior of others.

Real Life

Within the world of congregational Christianity, or, one might say, the church world this error has proved to be very invasive. As a minister, there never seems to be a dull moment. Each week brings many and varied challenges that seemingly pop up to derail us from our already overloaded schedule. 

One of the major points of conflict between staff members (ministers) and laity (church members) is understanding the differences between who we are, what we do, and what we deal with everyday. Ask a church member to comment on how effective they believe a particular minister is in their role, and many of the comments will revolve around likes and dislikes pertaining to the minister’s personality. 

In contrast, ask a minister about his effectiveness and you will likely hear about the daily grind, and all of the areas of responsibilities and unforeseen circumstances that make up their ministry. As much as the minister’s tend to lean into the situation, the membership leans much hard into the personality.

It is normal to want to understand why people behave the way they do. It is just natural curiosity for most of us. Using cognitive biases is a standard way for the brain to process human behavior. The problem we need to recognize is that cognitive biases can be wrong. 

Observing someone’s personality can allow us to make quick decisions about that person, but we need to be careful and remain cognizant of our biases so we can consider the alternate explanations for someone’s behavior.

To remedy the fundamental attribution error I try to put myself in the shoes of the other person. I think about what I might do in the same situation. 

By doing these things, I can come up with some situational factors that may lend themselves to the behavior exhibited. I also look for hidden factors to help me better read the other person’s behavior. 

The inverse is also just as important. When I look at my own behavior, I need to avoid the actor-observer effect, and be sure to include my own personality when I am assigning credit for my own actions. 

TJ

Brain Networking

 

Researchers use brain scans to determine the mechanism behind cognitive control of thoughts
 
The human brain does not come with an operating manual. However, a group of scientists from UC Santa Barbara and the University of Pennsylvania have developed a way to convert structural brain imaging techniques into “wiring diagrams” of connections between brain regions.

Three researchers from UCSB’s Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences — Michael Miller, Scott Grafton and Matt Cieslak — used the structure of neural networks to reveal the fundamental rules that govern which parts of the brain are most able to exert cognitive control over thoughts and actions. This study is the first to provide a mechanistic explanation for how the frontal cortex exerts control over the trillions of individual neurons that allow people to stay focused on one task or switch to a radically different one. The findings appear in the journal Nature Communications.

“Particular regions of your brain are predisposed to control your thoughts based on where they lie in relation to other regions,” said Miller, a UCSB psychology professor and co-author of the paper. “The regions on the ‘outskirts’ can perform a very specific kind of control. They can move the system to distant states, like switching from working at your job to playing with your kids.”

This new research weds cutting-edge neuroscience with the emerging field of network science, which is often used to study social systems. By applying control theory — a field traditionally used to study electrical and mechanical systems — the investigators show that being on the outskirts of the brain is necessary for the frontal cortex to dynamically control the direction of thoughts and goal-directed behavior. 

“We need a basic theory of how the brain controls itself, and to get there, we suggest treating the brain as an engineering system,” said senior author Danielle Bassett, the Skirkanich Assistant Professor of Innovation in Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. “Cognitive control is a lot like engineering control: You model the system’s dynamics by identifying key points; if I push on that one piece or pull this lever, I can offer a prediction of how it’s going to affect other parts of the network.”

By applying control theory equations to the wiring diagrams generated from brain scans, the researchers showed that the geographical and functional differences between regions of the brain are linked. While the analysis cannot say whether the frontal cortex’s location or its role evolved first, it suggests that part of the frontal cortex’s ability to control executive function depends on its distance from other parts of the brain network. 

“This study heralds a new wave of network science, grounded in rigorous control theory,” said co-author Grafton, director of UCSB’s Brain Imaging Center. “When applied to state-of-the-art brain imaging data we begin to see some of the design tradeoffs inherent in the architecture of brain connections.”

Regions that are most interconnected — and therefore more internal to the network — are very good at moving the brain into nearby states — for example, from writing someone an email to speaking with that person on the phone. “What’s particularly interesting if we look at where those inner nodes are, they’re all in ‘default mode’ regions, which are the regions that are active when you’re resting,” said Bassett, a former postdoctoral research associate in Grafton’s Action Lab at UCSB. “This makes sense, because if you were engineering an optimal system, you would want to put its baseline where it can get to most of the places it has to go pretty easily.”

According to co-author Cieslak, this type of holistic understanding of the relationship between brain regions’ locations and their roles is necessary for tailoring better treatments for people who have lost executive function due to disease or injury. He noted that such fundamental understanding of how the brain controls its activity could help lead to better interventions for medical conditions associated with reduced cognitive control, such as autism, schizophrenia or dementia.

TJ

Gaps and Motivation

A simple way of understanding motivation is to consider the gaps that act to drive us.
A gap requires two things, between which that gap can exist. For motivation, this can include such as:

• What is and what could be
• What was and what is
• What I want and what I do not want
• What I have got and what I have not got

Leon Festinger described Cognitive Dissonance, where the gap between two conflicting thoughts lead us to seek ways of reducing this. When we simultaneously think about what we want and about what we actually have, we feel a similar discomfort, often as a physical tension.

Disagreement gaps

Gaps are also the driver for disagreement between people. Where our internal motivators are different from others, then we will disagree with them.

If we have a values gap with others, then we may consider them bad and immoral in some way, or perhaps that they are overly-concerned with something that we find relatively unimportant. And they might think the same as us. 

If we have a beliefs gap, then we will disagree on what it true and false. One person may say that something happens like this, whilst the other says it happens like that. Or one says X exists whilst the other says X does not exist.

In a goals gap, I may be seeking to achieve something, but in working towards this, I am preventing you from reaching your goals.

In a commitment gap, I am concerned about the gap between what you have promised to do and what you are actually doing (or are likely to do). People in business spend a lot of time managing such gaps.
 

To persuade people, there are two things you can do.

Decrease distracting gaps

First, recognize that they are already motivated into doing other things, which means they already have some gaps that are motivating them. So in order to get attention space, find ways of removing the gaps that already exist. 

Solve their problems. Help remove their distractions. Help them reach their goals.
You should also reduce gaps around beliefs and values, such that you can find more agreement. Beliefs can thus be traded -- if I agree with one of your truths, will you accept one of mine?

Create and increase the right gaps

When you have their attention (and perhaps at the same time as decreasing the distractions), you can then start making new gaps. Point out things that had not noticed. Show how important things are. Show the implications of not doing what you want them to do. And so on.


t

Cognitive Development

          Cognitive abilities make available a way for us to handle the information that we receive from our senses. These processing abilities include how we determine what our actions should be, how we are able to compare one thing to another, remember past events, keeping what we learn in memory, evaluate things and situations, and analyze information in order to make decisions. There appears to be some instinctive element that is present within our cognitive functioning. The strength of the heredity argument is considered unsettled science at this time. However, Robert Plomin states, "The evidence for a strong genetic contribution to general cognitive ability is clearer than for any other area of psychology" (Davis, 2004). Genetics notwithstanding, most of the research available considers cognitive ability to be a learned skill/s.

            One of the key issues with cognitive development is when it does not occur as it should within the individual. Most development issues will have a direct impact on a person being able to learn, and these issues more often than not will need to be addressed and acted upon to help correct them to any degree. Cognitive functioning is not only side-tracked through developmental issues, it can also be affected by physical injury to the brain as well. No matter what the situation might be for an individual cognitive functioning, when not up to speed, can in many cases be brought closer to where it should be, and those with "normal" functioning can be taken to higher levels of learning. 

Childhood Cognitive Development

            Many opinions and much research has been done in relation to cognitive development during the childhood years. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) posited that children, "are actively involved in their own cognitive development" (Jacobs, 2002). Piaget's theory of cognitive development was based on the idea that, "the mind, through its interaction with the environment, undergoes a series of metamorphoses...as children grow their brains achieve new and more advanced connections for different kinds of thinking" (Jacobs, 2002). Piaget's took his theory, based on assimilation and accommodation and delineated it into stages. He referred to the childhood years (from birth to 12 years old) as the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, and concrete operational stage. His final stage, formal operations, applied to those form 12 years old through adulthood. However, Piaget did not "corner the market" on childhood cognitive development. Others would follow his with ideas that were similar and that were somewhat contrary.

            The social-cognitive perspective is a type of hybrid approach to understanding childhood development that includes cognitive functioning. In more recent times, "Albert Bandura and others have demonstrated that much of what we know and do is acquired through the process of observational learning" (Duffy & Eastwood, 2005). What they mean here is that large portions of what is learned throughout childhood in particular, and life in general, is learned by watching other people model a behavior or activity without the learner receiving any reinforcer at the time the activity is observed. This makes the environment in which a child is raised a very important aspect of their cognitive development. As they grow and use the knowledge acquired from observational learning, the reinforcer not received at the point of learning will be present at the time of acting of what was learned. The outcome can be good or bad based on the information gathered during observation. One aspect of Bandura's idea is that repeated exposure to, "violence in films, television, video games, and other media not only desensitize us to violence but also induce violence in children and adults" (Duffy & Eastwood, 2005). Thinking about how behavior patterns have seemingly disintegrated over time should cause someone to pause after reading this last statement. How true does it ring?

Adolescence and Cognitive Development

            Cognitive development as defined in the opening portion of this paper could also be amended to include the ability to think and reason. During the childhood years, the cognitive development process (ability to think) becomes, as Piaget would say "concrete." However, when adolescence is reached a more complex form of cognition begins including reason, abstract thinking, and comparative thinking. 

            Cognitive change does not happen overnight. The cognitive function changes that occur all along the lifespan occur slowly, but never does it seem as slow, at least to the person in process, than it does during the adolescent years (12-18 years old). The change during these years, unlike Piaget's spurts of growth during childhood, is more along the lines of the, "information-processing perspective (that) sees changes in cognitive abilities as gradual transformations in the capacity to take in, use, and store information" (Feldman, 2003). 

Education during these years is vital (assuming the educators are proceeding properly) to cognitive growth. It is during these years that, "people organize their thinking about the world, develop strategies for dealing with new situations, sort facts, and achieve advances in memory capacity and perceptual abilities" (Feldman, 2003). This information should make us keenly aware of the importance of what a person is taught at this stage of life. 

            "Many developmentalists find middle schools to be developmentally regressive - they force children to step backward" (Berger, 2011). What does this mean in terms of cognitive development? "Long-term academic trajectories - the choice to stay in school or to drop out and the selection in high school of academic college-prep courses versus basic-level courses - are strongly influenced by experience in grades 6-8" (Berger, 2011).  It should be accurate to suggest that this is the point of cognitive growth that the phenomena of evaluation apprehension (Cottrell) arises. Why is this important? Evaluation apprehension, "concern for how others are evaluating us" (Myers, 2010) can help or hurt a person's cognitive progress by altering how much effort they put forth to grow cognitively based on how they feel about being evaluated, and to some extent those evaluating them. This, in my opinion, is but one point of many as to why standardized testing is not good for most people during this stage of life or anytime for that matter. 

            While addressing the education aspect of cognitive development, omitting the technological component would leave out one of the most relative aspects of cognitive development at this stage of life. The internet, cell phones, and video games tend to eat away at the day. They are time-killers to put it mildly. There could be the usual discussion about how to properly use the internet, what is appropriate to send in a text message, and what video game rating is too explicit for someone of this age bracket. However, these things pale in comparison to two other sinister outcomes of using these tools and games. Sleep deprivation and addiction are concerns that all parents should have when it comes to using these mediums. The Mayo Clinic posted a report about adolescent sleep issues that is very pertinent to this discussion, "Most teens need about nine hours of sleep a night — and sometimes more — to maintain optimal daytime alertness. But few teens actually get that much sleep regularly, thanks to factors such as part-time jobs, early-morning classes, homework,   extracurricular activities, social demands, and use of computers and other electronic gadgets. More than 90 percent of teens in a recent study published in the Journal of School Health reported sleeping less than the recommended nine hours a night. In the same study, 10 percent of teens reported sleeping less than six hours a night.

            Although this might seem like no big deal, sleep deprivation can have serious consequences. Tired teens can find it difficult to concentrate and learn, or even stay     awake in class. Too little sleep also might contribute to mood swings and behavioral problems. Another major concern is drowsy driving, which can lead to serious — even deadly — accidents" (Mayo Clinic, 2011).

Lack of sleep can inhibit information intake that in turn can leave gaps in learning. The gaps can be stumbling blocks in the cognitive development future of the person who allows games to keep them from sleeping enough.
            The other issue, addiction, can be just as, if not more, devastating in terms of cognitive development. Like sleep deprivation, "Addiction of any kind limits life experience, with the harm especially severe when the brain is still growing" (Berger, 2011). Does the brain grow throughout adolescence? It does continue to grow, and a quick glance at the physiological aspects of brain development reinforce the warning of Berger, "The final stage is synaptogenesis, or the formation of synapses. Although the process (brain growth) begins before birth, it continues throughout life as neurons form new synapses and discard old ones" (Kalat, 2009). With limits on life experiences and improper brain functioning (due to the fact the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until a person is in their early 20s), it would make cognitive development much more difficult at best or non-existent at worse.
            Leaving the negative side of adolescence, can there be healthy ways to address cognitive development? Robert J. Sternberg, in his resume that was posted on the Yale website recorded one of the best short descriptions of, not only his study of intelligence, but a great map to help understand how to maximize cognitive growth,
" My research is motivated primarily by a theory of successful intelligence, which attempts to account for the intellectual sources of individual differences that enable people to achieve success in their lives, given the socio-cultural context in which they live. Successfully intelligent people discern their strengths and weaknesses, and then figure out how to capitalize on their strengths, and to compensate for or remediate their weaknesses. Successfully intelligent individuals succeed in part because they achieve a functional balance among a "triarchy" of abilities: analytical abilities, which are used to analyze, evaluate, judge, compare and contrast; creative abilities, which are used to create, invent, discover, imagine; practical abilities, which are used to apply, utilize, implement, and activate. Successfully intelligent people are not necessarily high in all three of these abilities, but find a way effectively to exploit whatever pattern of abilities they may have. Moreover, all of these abilities can be further developed. A fundamental idea underlying this research is that conventional notions of intelligence and tests of intelligence miss important kinds of intellectual talent, and overweigh what are sometimes less important kinds of intellectual talent" (University of Oregon, 2001).
Sternberg is quite an intelligent man, and his contributions to the inner-workings of cognitive functioning are very helpful. His insights can help parents understand the role "true" intelligence plays in the life of their teenager, and from there the parents should be able to help foster cognitive growth in their teenager. Although intelligence and cognitive ability are not exactly the same, they are inter-related and inter-twined to the point that improvement in one should have a positive effect on the other. Cognitive ability can be, in most people, improved (fluidly) to a mature point (of crystallized intelligence). So, therefore a discussion of intelligence is relevant to the overall idea of this paper. So, in transition to adulthood, find the words of Sternberg from an audio transcript of an interview in which he "defines intelligence" in a most interesting way,
            "I prefer to refer to it as "successful intelligence." And the reason is that the emphasis is    on the use of your intelligence to achieve success in your life.   So I define it as your skill        in achieving whatever it is you want to attain in your life within your socio-cultural   context-Meaning that people have different goals for themselves, and for some it's to get      very good grades in school and to do well on tests, and for others it might be to become a             very good basketball player or actress or musician. So, it's your skill in obtaining what       you want in life within your socio-cultural context [which] means that if you want to be      an axe murderer it wouldn't count--by capitalizing on your strengths and compensating       for, or correcting, your weaknesses. And what that means is that people differ in their   personal profiles. Some people are good at one thing; some are good at another thing.               And if you look at people who attain success by their own standards, they're generally      people who found something they do really well. And it can be very different things for         different people. For some, it's doing well on IQ tests, or SATs. For others it might be   playing basketball. For others it might be being a politician.   So they capitalize on their        strengths. And the things that they don't do so well-They find ways either to             compensate, meaning that they perhaps have someone else do the things they don't do      well, or they have them done by electronic means or whatever. Or correcting their  weaknesses- They make themselves better at whatever it is they didn't do so well, by  adapting to, shaping and selecting environments, which means that some of the time you change yourself to fit the environment. That's adaptation. So if you started a new job or a   new relationship, part of the time you change yourself to fit the job or to fit the relationship. And shaping means that part of the time you change the environment that is. So you might try to modify the job to make it a better fit to you, or you might try to change the relationship to make it more what you hoped it would be. And selection means that sometimes you just get out.   Being successfully intelligent means knowing when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time--the wrong job, the wrong relationship,  the wrong place to live---Um, through a combination of analytical, creative and practical abilities. You need creative skills to come up with ideas; you need analytical abilities to know whether they're good ideas-to evaluate the ideas-and you need practical abilities to make your ideas work and to persuade other people that your ideas are worth listening to. So that's the definition" (Plucker, 2003).

                                     Adult Cognitive Development Emerging Adults
            Often defined in terms of those who are ages 18-25 this period of life seems to have as much, if not more, in terms of cognitive development potential. This is also the beginning of the, "postformal thought" stage of life that, "originated because several developmentalists agreed that Piaget's fourth stage, formal operational thought, was inadequate to describe adult thinking" (Berger, 2011). However, when discussing cognitive development is there any real development? Do adults acquire "new" intellectual capabilities? The answer could be no. If that is the case then, "adulthood has no stages" (Berger, 2011). Maybe, maybe not?
            Emerging adulthood reveals quite a bit of evidence for continued cognitive growth. One of the first things one might notice is the ability to combine the subjective with the objective. Subjectivity being emotionally driven based on the perceptions of life events, and objectivity being the way things really are (intellectual and logical in nature) sometimes need to be combined to make informed decisions in adulthood. "Without this consolidation of intellect and emotion, behavioral extremes...or cognitive extremes (such as believing that one is the best or the worst person on Earth) are common" (Berger, 2011).
            The most important (as some consider it) cognitive advancement usually comes into play during this stage of life. The ability to, "consider a thesis and its antithesis simultaneously and arrive at a synthesis" (Berger, 2011) is called dialectical thought, and it is often considered the pinnacle of all cognitive development. There is one caveat to the synthesis arrived at employing this type of thought process, sometimes one should not strive to create a synthesis. Some things in life are separated into thesis/antithesis for a reason. Truth and non-truth cannot be synthesized into something that has objective meaning. If something is objectively true, it implies that anything opposite (antithetical) to it is false, and no amount of synthesis can  blend the two. However, not to take the discussion too deep, if I say chocolate ice cream is the best, and you say vanilla ice cream is the best, I have formed a thesis and you have formed an antithesis. Who is right? Dialectical thought would enable us to agree that both are very good in spite of the fact that I prefer chocolate and you prefer vanilla.
            There are other areas that come into play in emerging adult cognitive development. Gender differences tend to become clearer based on how each processes role ideas. Faith also becomes something to struggle with during this time for many people. Middle Adulthood
            Basic adulthood spans the ages of 25-40 (or even up to 65 in some opinions). The references from Sternberg are equally as applicable here as they were in the section on adolescence. IQ tends to be the big focus of those who study cognitive development during these years.
            The most notable part of cognitive development during these years is not the new information that these people will acquire, but utilization of what they have learned. "People in their forties and fifties are better at solving problems that require the use of a store of practical knowledge" (Davis, 2004). The reason for this is that, "when middle adulthood is reached, considerable information concerning everyday problems and ways to solve them has been accumulated" (Davis, 2004).
            It is often cited that as people age their IQ declines. Nettleback and Rabbit (1992) suggested that, "poorer performance on IQ tests may be the result of physical rather than cognitive changes" (Feldman, 2003). Why was the decline determined to be physical and not cognitive? It was suggested as such because of the slower reaction times present in people as they age. So, just because some is older and slower does not necessarily mean they have dropped in cognitive functioning. Late Adulthood
            From a cognitive point of view, at this stage of life, "fluid intelligence begins a gradual decline...whereas crystallized intelligence continues to increase gradually" (Davis, 2004). Why is this the case when people reach late adulthood? The evidence suggests, "as we grow older, we begin to experience difficulties in successfully encoding new material" (Davis, 2004). More recent studies show that there is a decline in memory as well as encoding. Mather and Carstensen (2005) suggests if there is a motivating cognitive factor present it will often have a positive effect on attention and memory. They begin the study by confirming how control over cognitive processes declines with age,
            "Perhaps the most widely acknowledged psychological change with age is the decline in   cognitive processes, especially memory. However, not all cognitive processes decline with age – not even all types of memory. One general characterization is that older adults have impaired cognitive control that is associated with deterioration in prefrontal brain  regions. Thus, older adults show deficits on attention and memory tasks that require the generation and maintenance of internal strategies rather than just reliance on external cues. For example, explicit recall of words studied a few minutes previously was shown to decline across a four-year period whereas implicit memory of recently studied words   did not show a decline with age" (Mather & Laura, 2005). The up-side to this study was that older adults improve in the area of emotional control, "In contrast with the declines seen in cognitive control, age does not impair emotional control. Compared with younger adults, older adults report that they focus more on self-control of their emotions and rate their emotion regulation skills as better" (Mather & Laura, 2005).
            The down-side to the whole discussion of aging and cognitive ability consists in the ailments that arise as people age. The most common issue older adults deal with is depression that is usually brought about by the, "death of spouses and friends...declining health...which may rob older people of their sense of control" (Feldman, 2003).
            Other cognitive bearing issues that arise at this stage of life are dementia "the most common mental disorder of the elderly" (Feldman, 2003), and Alzheimer's disease, "a progressive brain disorder that produces loss of memory and confusion" (Feldman, 2003). It has been published that, "almost 50% of people over the age of 85 are affected by Alzheimer's disease" (Feldman, 2003).
            Cognitive is fleeting thing as we age. No matter what type of spin the researchers might put on it cognitive development builds from birth to middle adulthood and then begins its decent. Does life really matter after age 85? If we pass 85yrs old will we be cognizant enough to know or even care? The moral of the cognitive process is for each person to maximize their abilities while they have the ability to do so.
            At this point, the words of Solomon seem apropos,
            ¹  Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and    the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; ² before the sun and    the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; ³ in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand    idle because they are few, and those who look through ^[a]windows grow dim; ⁴ and the  doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at   the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will ^[b]sing softly. ⁵ Furthermore, ^[c]men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his  eternal home while mourners go about in the street. ⁶ Remember Him before the silver cord is ^[d]broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; ⁷ then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the    ^[e] spirit will return to God who gave it. ⁸ “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is  vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, NASB).

Conclusion
            Application of the information contained within this paper is and will be useful in any endeavor. For me this information is useful in my current situation as someone who teaches, shares, preaches, and sings about the Good News of Jesus Christ. How, you may ask? It is very simple to explain how it is useful. When it comes to helping others come to know Jesus Christ I have wisdom in the words of the man I consider to be the "last great theologian,"
" Every generation of Christians has this problem of learning how to speak meaningfully to its own age. It cannot be solved without an understanding of the changing existential situation which it faces. If we are to communicate the Christian faith effectively, therefore, we must know and understand the thought forms of our own generation. These will differ slightly from place to place, and more so from nation to nation. Nevertheless there are characteristics of an age such as ours which are the same wherever we happen to be" (Schaeffer, 1968).

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