Skip to main content

Cognitive Underpinnings of Identity Flexibility in Adulthood

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Identity Flexibility During Adulthood

Abstract

 The main question I hope to address in this chapter is this: how can I create and hold a unified concept of my self and my identity at the same time I hold a concept of my self and my identity as growing, evolving, and changing? My answer will be that I use complex postformal thought and problem solving, a theory of adult cognitive development that rests on complex conceptual processes also seen in sciences such as quantum physics and self-constructing systems. Now that you have the short answer to my question, you, the reader, can read on for a deeper analysis, critique the ideas, or go on to another chapter. Your choice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abraham, R. (1985). Is there chaos without noise? In P. Fisher & W. Smith (Eds.), Chaos, fractals, and dynamics (pp. 117–121). New York: Marcel Dekker.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alper, J. (1989). The chaotic brain: New models of behavior. Psychology Today, 23, 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ananthaswamy, A. (2015). The man who wasn’t there: Investigations into the strange new science of the self. New York: Dutton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, J. (1991). Keeping one’s balance in a moving system: The effects of the multiple personality disordered patient on the cognitive development of the therapist. In J. D. Sinnott & J. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Bridging paradigms: Positive development in adulthood and cognitive aging (pp. 11–18). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barton, S. (1994). Chaos, self organization, and psychology. American Psychologist, 49, 5–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benovenli, L., Fuller, E., Sinnott, J., & Waterman, S. (2011). Three applications of the theory of postformal thought: Wisdom, concepts of god, and success in college. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 22, 141–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bleidorn, W. (2015). What accounts for personality maturation in early adulthood? Psychological Science, 24, 245–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohm, D. (1980). Wholeness and the implicate order. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Born, M. (1962). Einstein’s theory of relativity. New York: Dover.

    Google Scholar 

  • Born, M. (1964). Natural philosophy of cause and chance. New York: Dover.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brillouin, L. (1970). Relativity reexamined. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busemeyer, J. R., & Wang, Z. (2015). What is quantum cognition and how is it applied to psychology? Psychological Science, 24, 165–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, K. B., Galupo, M. P., Tyree, S. D., & Jennings, J. (2009). Reliability and validity of the complex postformal thought questionnaire. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 183–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caskie, G. I. L. (2011). Latent growth models: A quantitative method for studying adult development and learning. In C. Hoare (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning (2nd ed., pp. 61–79). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavanaugh, J.C. (1989). The utility of concepts in chaos theory for psychological theory and research. Paper presented at the Fourth Adult Development Conference at Harvard University, Cambridge MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavanaugh, J. C., & McGuire, L. (1994). The chaos of lifespan learning. In J. Sinnott (Ed.), Interdisciplinary handbook of adult lifespan learning (pp. 3–21). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutchfield, J. P., Farmer, J. D., Packard, N. H., & Shaw, R. S. (1986). Chaos. Scientific American, 255, 46–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies. (1989). The new physics. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devaney, R. (1989). An introduction to chaotic dynamical systems. Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dossey, L. (1982). Space, time and medicine. Boston: Shambhala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dossey, L. (1989). Recovering the soul: A scientific and spiritual search. New York: Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A. (1961). Relativity: The special and general theory. New York: Crown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. (1982). The lifecycle completed. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedle, R. (1977). Psychology, Thomian topologies, deviant logics, and human development. In N. Datan & H. Reese (Eds.), Lifespan developmental psychology: Postformal perspectives on experimental research (pp. 317–342). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galupo, M. P., Cartwright, K. B., & Savage, L. S. (2010). Cross-social category friendships as a context for postformal cognitive development. Journal of Adult Development, 17, 208–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavin, J. L., Galupo, M. P., & Cartwright, K. B. (2009). The role of postformal cognitive development in death acceptance. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 166–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: Making a new science. New York: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goerner, S. (1994). Chaos and the evolving psychological universe. Langhorne, PA: Gordon & Breach Scientific Publishers, S.A..

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, J. (1994). The unshackled organization. Portland, OR: Productivity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottman, J. (1991). Chaos and regulated change in families: A metaphor for the study of transitions. In P. A. Cohen & M. Hetherington (Eds.), Family transitions (pp. 247–272). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heisenberg, W. (1958). Physics and philosophy. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilton, S., Tobin, E., Chrzanowska E., & Sinnott, J. (under review). Measuring postformal thought consistently with three types of scales: Agreement between short form objective items, long form objective items, and open-ended responses to a dilemma. Journal of Adult Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, J., Galupo, M., & Cartwright, K. (2009). The role of postformal cognitive development in death acceptance. Journal of Adult Development, 16, 166–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. (1991). Briding paradigms: The role of a change agent in an international technical transfer project. In J. Sinnott & J. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Bridging paradigms: Positive development in adulthood and cognitive aging (pp. 59–72). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. (1994). Nonformal adult learning in international development projects. In J. D. Sinnott (Ed.), Interdisciplinary handbook of adult lifespan learning (pp. 203–217). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. (2004). Postformal thinking in the workplace. Stockholm: University of Stockholm Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. S. (1992). Physics for the rest of us: Ten basic ideas of 20th century physics. New York: Fall River Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. (1930/1971). The stages of life. In J. Campbell (Ed.), The portable Jung. New York: Viking Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, W. (1973). Relativity and cosmology. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, K. (1994). Out of control: The new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, P., & Bresson, P. (2015). Humans as superorganisms: How microbes, viruses, imprinted genes, and other selfish entities shape our behavior. Psychological Science, 10, 464–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroger, J., & McLean, K. C. (2011). Identity narratives during the adult years. In C. Hoare (Ed.), Oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning (pp. 173–185). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, R. L., & Fitzgerald, H. E. (Eds.). (1992). Analysis of dynamic psychological systems, Vols. 1 & 2. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lock Land, G. T. (1973). Grow or die. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, E. (1963). Deterministic non-periodic flow. Journal of Atmospheric Science, 20, 130–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, E. (1979). Predictability: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, M. J. (1991). Human change processes. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maturana, H., & Varela, F. (1988). The tree of knowledge. Boston: New Science Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. (1978). Living systems. New York: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, M. E. (2011). Mature transformations in adulthood facilitated by psychotherapy and spiritual practice. In C. Hoare (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning (2nd ed., pp. 265–283). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholis, G., & Prigogene, I. (1989). Exploring complexity. New York: Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prigogene, I. (1980). From being to becoming. San Francisco: Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prigogene, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order out of chaos: Man’s new dialogue with nature. New York: Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riegel, K. (1975). Adult life crises: A postformal interpretation of development. In N. Datan & L. Ginsberg (Eds.), Lifespan developmental psychology: Normative life crises (pp. 99–129). New York: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Riegel, K. F. (1973). Postformal operations: The final period of cognitive development. Human Development, 16, 346–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riegel, K. F. (1976). Toward a postformal theory of development. American Psychologist, 31, 679–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riegel, K. F. (1977). Past and future trends in gerontology. The Gerontologist, 17, 105–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, H. P., & Noonan, T. W. (1968). Relativity and cosmology. Philedelphia: Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, D., Sinnott, J., & Van Dusen, L. (1991, July). Marital adjustment and social cognitive performance in everyday logical problem solving. Paper presented at the 6th Adult Development Conference, Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, D. R. B. (1989). The effect of dyad interaction and marital adjustment on cognitive performance in everyday logical problem solving (Doctoral dissertation, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1969). The A B C of relativity. New York: Mentor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlick, M. (1970). Causality in contemporary physics. In J. Toulmin (Ed.), Physical reality: Philosophical essays on 20th century physics (pp. 83–121). New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheldrake, R. (1981). A new science of life. Los Angeles: Tarcher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheldrake, R. (1989). The presence of the past: Morphic resonance and the habits of nature. New York: Viking.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheldrake, R. (1990). The rebirth of nature. London: Century.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1981). The theory of relativity: A metatheory for development? Human Development, 24, 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1984). Postformal reasoning: The relativistic stage. In M. Commons, F. Richards, & C. Armon (Eds.), Beyond formal operations (pp. 298–325). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1989a). Changing the known, knowing the changing. In D. Kramer & M. Bopp (Eds.), Transformation in clinical and developmental psychology (pp. 51–69). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1989b). Everyday problem solving: Theory and applications. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1989c). General systems theory: A rationale for the study of everyday memory. In L. Poon, D. Rubin, & B. Wilson (Eds.), Everyday cognition in adulthood and old age (pp. 59–70). New Rochelle, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1989d). Lifespan relativistic postformal thought. In M. Commons, J. Sinnott, F. Richards, & C. Armon (Eds.), Beyond formal operations I (pp. 239–278). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1991a). Limits to problem solving: Emotion, intention, goal clarity, health, and other factors in postformal thought. In J. D. Sinnott & J. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Bridging paradigms: Positive development in adulthood and cognitive aging. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1991b). What do we do to help John? A case study of everyday problem solving in a family making decisions about an acutely psychotic member. In J. D. Sinnott & J. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Bridging paradigms: Positive development in adulthood and cognitive aging (pp. 203–220). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1993a). Use of complex thought and resolving intragroup conflicts: A means to conscious adult development in the workplace. In J. Demick & P. M. Miller (Eds.), Development in the workplace (pp. 155–175). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1993b). Teaching in a chaotic new physics world: Teaching as a dialogue with reality. In P. Kahaney, J. Janangelo, & L. Perry (Eds.), Theoretical and critical perspectives on teacher change (pp. 91–108). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1993c). Yes, it’s worth the trouble! Unique contributions from everyday cognition studies. In H. Reese & J. Puckett (Eds.), Lifespan developmental psychology: Mechanisms of everyday cognition (pp. 73–94). NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1994a). Interdisciplinary handbook of adult lifespan learning. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1994b). New science models for teaching adults: Teaching as a dialogue with reality. In J. D. Sinnott (Ed.), Interdisciplinary handbook of adult lifespan learning (pp. 90–104). Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1996). The developmental approach: Postformal thought as adaptive intelligence. In F. Blanchard-Fields & T. Hess (Eds.), Perspectives on cognitive change in adulthood and aging (pp. 358–383). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1997). Brief report: Complex postformal thought in skilled research administrators. Journal of Adult Development, 4(1), 45–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1998a). Creativity and postformal thought. In C. Adams-Price (Ed.), Creativity and aging: Theoretical and empirical approaches. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (1998b). The development of logic in adulthood: Postformal thought and its applications. In J. Demick (Ed.), Plenum series on adult development. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2000). Cognitive aspects of unitative states: Spiritual self-realization, intimacy, and knowing the unknowable. In M. E. Miller & A. N. West (Eds.), Spirituality, ethics, and relationship in adulthood: Clinical and theoretical explorations (pp. 177–198). Madison, CN: Psychosocial Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2002). Postformal thought and adult development: Living in balance. In J. Demick & C. Andreoletti (Eds.), Handbook of adult development. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2003). Teaching as nourishment for complex thought. In N. L. Diekelmann (Ed.), Teaching the practitioners of care: New pedagogies for the health professions, Interpretive studies in healthcare and the human services series (pp. 232–271). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2004a). Learning as a humanistic dialogue with reality; new theories that help us teach the whole person: Context of learning and complex thought: Implications for modern life. In T. Hagestrom (Ed.), Stockholm lectures: Adult development and working life (pp. 78–108). Stockholm: University of Stockholm Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2004b). Learning as a humanistic dialogue with reality; new theories that help us teach the whole person: Complex postformal thought and its relation to adult learning, life span development, and the new sciences. In T. Hagestrom (Ed.), Stockholm lectures: Adult development and working life (pp. 109–152). Stockholm: University of Stockholm Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2005). The dance of the transforming self: Both feelings of connection and complex thought are needed for learning. In M. A. Wolf (Ed.), Adulthood, new terrain, new directions (pp. 27–38). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2006). Spirituality as “feeling connected with the transcendent”: Outline of a transpersonal psychology of adult development of self. Religion, Spirituality, and the Scientific Study of Religion, 16, 287–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2008). Neo-Piagetian concepts of cognitive development in adults. In M. Cecil Smith & N. DeFratis-Densch (Eds.), Handbook of research on adult learning and development. New York: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2009). Complex thought and construction of the self in the face of aging and death. Journal of Adult Development, 16(3), 155–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2010). Coherent themes: Individuals’ relationships with God, and their early childhood experiences, bonds with significant others, and relational delusions during psychotic episodes have common existential and relational themes. Journal of Adult Development, 17(4), 230–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2011). Constructing the self in the face of aging and death: Complex thought and learning. In C. Hoare (Ed.), Oxford handbook of adult development and learning (2nd ed., pp. 248–264). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (Ed.). (2013). Positive psychology: Advances in understanding adult motivation. New York: Springer Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D. (2014). Adult development: Cognitive aspects of thriving close relationships. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D., & Berlanstein, D. (2006). The importance of feeling whole: Learning to “feel connected”, community, and adult development. In C. H. Hoare (Ed.), Oxford handbook of adult development and learning (pp. 381–406). New York: Oxford U. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D., & Cavanaugh, J. (Eds.). (1991). Bridging paradigms: Positive development in adulthood and cognitive aging. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinnott, J. D., & Johnson, L. (1996). Reinventing the university: A radical proposal for a problem focused university. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. B., & Thelan, E. (Eds.). (1993). A dynamic systems approach to development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toulmin, J. (1970). Physical reality: Philosophical essays on 20th century physics. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vallacher, R. R., Coleman, P. T., Nowack, A., & Bui-Wrzosinska, L. (2010). Rethinking intractable conflict. American Psychologist, 65, 262–278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Von Bertalanfy, L. (1968). General systems theory. New York: Braziller.

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Neumann, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1947). Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldrop, M. (1992). Complexity: The emerging science at the edge of order and chaos. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, N. (1961). Cybernetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheatley, M. J. (2006). Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, F. A. (1981). Taking the quantum leap. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan, B. (1995). Nonabsolute/relativistic (N/R) thinking: A possible unifying commonality underlying models of postformal reasoning. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan, B., & Arlin, P. K. (1995). Non-absolute/relativistic thinking: A common factor underlying models of postformal reasoning? Journal of Adult Development, 2, 223–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan D. Sinnott .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sinnott, J.D. (2017). Cognitive Underpinnings of Identity Flexibility in Adulthood. In: Sinnott, J. (eds) Identity Flexibility During Adulthood. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55658-1_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics