Confirmation of the Piagetian Logic of Exclusion and Combinations During Concrete and Formal Operations.

A major premise of Piagetian theory relative to the periods of concrete and formal operations is that competence in specific logical operations is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite to competence in other specific logical operations. The present study tested for the existence of specific concrete operations and specific formal operations that have been hypothesized to be developmental prerequisites to specific formal operations. The Multiple Hierarchical Analysis, a data analytic technique, was used to identify scales--or prerequisite sequences--that occur significantly more often than by chance. A sample of 622 junior high students were administered an assessment instrument consisting of two 16-item group administered written tests designed to measure various logical operations. The empirically-generated data of this study support the logically-generated Piagetian Theory. Also supported was the Piagetian postulation that each of the developmental periods is characterized by specific characteristics and a wholistic quality binding together the various characteristics. Combinatorial thought was found to be the quality that binds formal operations. (SJL)