The development of reasoning

This chapter focuses on the development of reasoning. Specifically, the chapter explicates what inductive and deductive reasoning is and outlines its development from infancy to early adulthood. Moshman’s model of deductive reasoning development and related research is outlined. This model specifies four developmental levels— explicit content-implicit inference, explicit inference-implicit logic, explicit logic-implicit metalogic, and explicit metalogic—with progression across them based on the interplay between inference and awareness. The mechanisms of reasoning development, involving language, formal education, processing efficiency, and awareness are also explicated. It is concluded that, although inference is always present, advanced inductive and analogical reasoning and deductive reasoning proper are not present before a certain level of awareness about the inferential process is achieved.