Explain the relationship among post-formal cognitive development, experience, and metacognition.

Post-formal cognitive development depends on experience and metacognition, the ability to reflect on one's thought process. When individuals are exposed to situations and reasoning that challenges their knowledge and belief systems they may be motivated to consider the adequacy of their own reasoning processes and modify them as needed. Social interaction is critical to post-formal development. Discussing and considering multiple perspectives and solutions to a problem can spur individuals to evaluate their own reasoning. With maturation, young people become more likely to compare their reasoning process and justifications with others. When their justifications fall short, adults seek a more adequate explanation and adjust their thinking accordingly. Advancement to post-formal reasoning is associated with contextual factors; specifically, exposure to realistic but ambiguous problems with diverging information, as well as supportive guidance, such as that which is often a part of college education within Western cultures.