Formal Operational Stage

• The formal operational stage occurs from 11 onwards.
• By 11, children can develop formal reasoning. This means that they are able to focus on an argument and comprehend abstract concepts. For example, children are able to comprehend the meaning of justice and its implications.
• Formal operational children are also able to do hypothetico-deductive reasoning, where they understand how to test a hypothesis in order to determine a causal relationship.
• For example, they could understand how to test the hypothesis that water makes objects wet by throwing an item in the water and seeing if it gets wet. If it does get wet, then it shows water causes wetness.