The relations between the development of formal operations and the development of the adolescent personality, as hypothesized by Inhelder and Piaget, were analyzed. The concept of possibility and reflectivity, it was argued, have a variety of meanings; once these meanings are examined, the logical foundation for the cognitive-developmental hypothesis disappears. There seems to be intrinsic difficulties in the attempt toextend Piaget’s operative theory of cognition to other aspects of personality.