Cognitive development in undergraduate emerging adults: How course-taking breadth supports skill formation

• Published in: Contemporary educational psychology 2023-07, Vol.74, p.102206, Article 102206
• Main Authors: Avakian Orona, Gabe, Eccles, Jacqueline Sue, Zitzmann, Steffen, Fischer, Christian, Arum, Richard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bayesian statistics; Cognitive development; Critical thinking; Emerging adults; Higher education; Liberal education; Reasoning; Skill theory
• ISSN: 0361-476X; 1090-2384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102206

•This study examined course-taking breadth on undergraduates’ complex cognitive reasoning abilities.•Panel data was analyzed using a Bayesian modeling approach.•Course-taking breadth shows a robust, moderate, and positive association with complex reasoning abilities.•Course-taking Breadth × Curiosity interaction was related to growth in complex reasoning.•Course-taking Breadth × Effort interaction was not related to growth in complex reasoning. Theories of cognitive development among emerging adults posit that environmental and age-related influences are responsible for individual differences in complex reasoning abilities. Exposure to and engagement with a diverse set of ideas and perspectives is stipulated to provide a context for which individuals are positioned to coordinate, integrate, and form new abstractions. This notion is implicit in the general education and elective requirements of university programs. In this study, we draw upon the cognitive psychology literature on emerging adult development to examine how intellectual breadth via course-taking patterns relates to gains in cognitive skills. Using recently collected longitudinal data of undergraduates enrolled at a large public university, we leverage a unique set of cognitive measures that tap a string of related constructs. We find moderate associations between intellectual breadth and reasoning skills, with notable differences across cognitive dimensions. Additionally, intellectual curiosity moderates the association between course breadth and cognition. Implications for theories of intellectual development are discussed in relation to undergraduate experiences.