The prolonged cognitive immaturity characteristic of human youth is described as adaptive in and of itself. The adaptive nature of cognitive immaturity is examined in developmental research in the areas of metacognition, egocentricity, plasticity and the speed of information processing, and language acquisition. Some of the consequences of viewing children's immature cognition as adaptive for cognitive development and education are discussed.Bernadette Gray-Little served as action editor for this article.Portions of the article were written while David F. Bjorklund was supported by a grant from The Spencer Foundation. We would like to thank the following people for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article:

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