Abstract
Postformal thinking is a construct in cognitive psychology that is developed as an "extension" of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. On one hand, it is a whole theoretical stream of research and definition of theories of cognitive development in adulthood, but also a set of partial studies dealing with individual aspects of cognition or developmental elements of thinking.
Higher education, such as obtaining a university-level education, is a stage when a young person reaches a high degree of mental functions and abilities, intelligence, and thinking. The full maturity of the students' judgement increases due to the acquisition of first practical experience, their dreaming gives way to a more realistic view of the world and the need to take responsibility.
Their interest in scientifically researching things and being able to change the known reality increases. The text builds on the Theory of Relativistic Postformal Thought postulated and operationalized by American professor Jan D.
Sinnott. According to Sinnott (1998), postformal thinking can be observed through the identification of postformal thinking operations.
Exploring these operations facilitates the experimental study of this level of thinking. The data in the present study are based on a comprehensive research plan, the aim of which is to describe the cognitive development of university students.
It summarizes data from a questionnaire survey among 554 university students in the Czech Republic. Based on the Postformal complex thought questionnaire, it monitors its structure within the framework of partial operations of postformal thinking.
The results of the study make it possible to better describe the nature of the thinking of university students and to take into account the possible influence of their study focus.