The Perry Model of Intellectual and Ethical Development

  Stages of Cognitive Development Transitions in Cognitive Development
#1: Dualistic Thinking
  • Students generally believe knowledge is certain and unambiguous: black/white, right/wrong
  • Questions have immutable, objective answers
  • Students generally believe authorities possess valuable wisdom that contains eternal truths
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  • Certainty yields to uncertainty and ambiguity
#2: Multiplicity
  • Students come to believe that where uncertainty exists, knowledge and truth are essentially subjective and personal
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Students come to recognize that mere opinion is insufficient because specific critieria help evaluate the usefulness and validity of knowledge claims:
• methodology • empirical evidence
• explanatory power • predictive power
• logical consistency
• positive vs. normative conclusions
#3: Contextual-Relativism
  • Students come to believe that even where uncertainty exists, people must make choices about premises, frameworks, hypotheses, and theories to apply; policy conclusions are not self-evident
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  • Students may come to recognize that even in a world of uncertainty, they must make choices (whether about ideas, hypotheses, theories, or policies). These choices require methods of critical thinking.
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#4: Context-Appropriate
        Decisions
  • Students may come to acknowledge that choices require analysis and values. Knowledge, theories, and methods are imperfect and uncertain, thus personal choices require acknowledging personal responsibility that follows from personal values.
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Source: model modifications by Nelson (1989), with additional comments by Thoma (1993)

Thoma, George A. (1993) "The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics". Journal of Economic Education Spring:128-136.