Formal Operations in First-Year College Students

Sixty first-year college student in a state university were administered three problems to ascertain their level of logical thinking. Successful solution of the problems required the elaboration of hypotheses and methods of proof. Seventeen percent of the randomly selected Ss scored at the concrete level, 63% at the lower formal level, and 20% at the upper formal level. Logical thinking was found to have almost no relationship to college selection criteria (high school rank and SAT scores) for men and a low relationship for women in this sample whose range of scores on these criteria was restricted. Differences between the sexes were found to be substantial and significant, favoring the men.