PSYC 3355: Topics in Adolescence - Lecture Notes

Normative Transitions

Predictable, age-graded developmental milestones and structural shifts experienced by the majority of individuals within a culture around the same chronological period (e.g., pubertal onset, entering secondary education).

Idiosyncratic Transitions

Unscheduled, unpredictable life disruptions experienced outside normative developmental timeframes (e.g., severe parental illness, unexpected bereavement, or sudden international relocation) that require non-normative coping strategies.

Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner)

A developmental paradigm positing that human development is shaped across five nested, bidirectional environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.

Recapitulationism and "Storm and Stress" (Hall)

The historical evolutionary doctrine proposing that individual ontogeny mirrors phylogenetic history, characterizing the second decade of life as an inherently turbulent epoch of emotional volatility, parent-child conflict, and risk-taking.

Continuous vs. Discontinuous Societies (Benedict)

An anthropological framework contrasting cultures where youth gradually transition into adult roles with minimal disruption against cultures marked by sharp, abrupt status divides between child dependence and adult responsibility.

Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura)

A behavioral framework asserting that learning occurs through observation, social modeling, vicarious reinforcement, and the development of self-efficacy beliefs.

Stage-Environment Fit (Lerner)

A developmental perspective proposing that psychological adjustment and achievement are optimized when structural social environments match the emerging developmental needs and autonomy of the youth.

HPG Axis Feedback Loop

A neuroendocrine pathway where the Hypothalamus secretes GnRH, stimulating the Pituitary to release LH and FSH, which prompt the Gonads to produce sex hormones (estrogens and androgens), resetting to a higher set point at pubertal onset.

Asynchronicity (Pubertal Growth)

An uneven, distal-to-proximal physical maturation pattern where extremities (such as hands, feet, and limbs) reach adult dimensions prior to the torso and shoulders.

Menarche

A female's first menstrual period, serving as a late-stage somatic benchmark of pubertal reproductive maturation.

Secular Trend (Puberty)

The historical pattern observed in industrialized nations marked by a progressive decline in the average age of pubertal maturation and menarche across successive generations due to advancements in nutrition and public health.

Semenarche

A male's first ejaculation or emission of seminal fluid during pubertal maturation.

Distancing Hypothesis

The evolutionary hypothesis suggesting that the onset of pubertal maturation triggers an adaptive decrease in physical and emotional intimacy and an increase in parent-child conflict to encourage out-group socialization and independence.

Synaptic Pruning

The adolescent neurodevelopmental process wherein redundant, weak, or underutilized cortical connections are eliminated to improve overall neural circuit efficiency.

Myelination

The biological process of forming an insulating lipid sheath around neuronal axons, markedly increasing the velocity and efficiency of electrical signal transmission.

Dual-Systems Model of Adolescent Development

A neurodevelopmental framework explaining heightened hazard exposure as a consequence of a maturational gap between early-maturing socioemotional reward centers (ventral striatum, amygdala) and the late-maturing prefrontal executive control network.

Formal Operations Stage (Piaget)

The final cognitive developmental stage beginning in early adolescence, defined by the emergence of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, systematic propositional logic, and abstract thought.

Adolescent Egocentrism (Elkind)

A cognitive phenomenon resulting from emerging abstract reasoning, wherein adolescents experience difficulty separating their own internal introspections from the hypothetical thoughts of others.

Imaginary Audience

A component of adolescent egocentrism involving the conviction that one is the constant focal point of universal attention, evaluation, and scrutiny from peers and observers.

Personal Fable

An egocentric belief structure characterized by a sense of absolute personal uniqueness, emotional invulnerability, and perceived immunity from negative life consequences or statistical risks.

Socio-Cultural Approach (Vygotsky & Rogoff)

A cognitive paradigm emphasizing that intellectual development is mediated through collaborative social engagement, cultural tool usage, and guided apprenticeships within the Zone of Proximal Development.

Scaffolding

Calibrated, temporary instructional supports provided by a more capable mentor that are progressively faded as the learner acquires mastery and autonomy.

Fluid Intelligence ($G_f$)

The dimension of intellect representing innate, non-verbal capacity for novel problem-solving, pattern detection, and abstract relational reasoning; peaks in late adolescence.

Crystallized Intelligence ($G_c$)

The dimension of intellect comprising accumulated factual knowledge, verbal comprehension, and acquired skills derived from formal education and cultural immersion; grows across adulthood.

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (Sternberg)

A model identifying three core dimensions of mental competence: Componential/Analytic (academic problem solving), Experiential/Creative (handling novelty), and Contextual/Practical (real-world problem solving and adaptation).

Metacognition

The higher-order cognitive ability to monitor, assess, regulate, and direct one's own thought processes and learning strategies.

Personal Epistemology

The developmental progression tracking how an individual conceptualizes the nature, certainty, and justification of knowledge, evolving from absolute objectivism to radical relativism, and finally to evaluative contextual rationalism.

Family System Feedback Loops

Homeostatic communication mechanisms where positive feedback amplifies disturbance and accelerates systemic change/disequilibrium, whereas negative feedback works to restore systemic stability and equilibrium.

Authoritative Parenting

A child-rearing typology characterized by high responsiveness and warmth balanced with high demandingness and behavioral structure, employing inductive discipline and respecting adolescent autonomy.

Authoritarian Parenting

A socialization style marked by high demandingness and low responsiveness, requiring unquestioned obedience through punitive measures while suppressing emotional expression and bidirectional dialogue.

Indulgent Parenting

A caregiving style featuring high emotional responsiveness and affection coupled with low demandingness and minimal behavioural monitoring or limits.

Indifferent Parenting

A parenting pattern characterized by low responsiveness and low demandingness, involving emotional detachment, neglect of developmental needs, and absence of boundary-setting.

Behavioural vs. Psychological Control

Parental monitoring and boundary enforcement (protecting against externalizing delinquency) contrasted with intrusive emotional manipulation such as guilt induction and love withdrawal (predicting internalizing anxiety and depression).

Genotype-Environment Correlations (Scarr's GECs)

A framework outlining how inherited genetic predispositions shape environmental exposure via three mechanisms: passive (biological parents provide genes and rearing environments), evocative (individual traits elicit distinct social reactions), and active (purposefully selecting environments compatible with one's genetic traits).

Sibling Deidentification

A deliberate psychological process in which an individual seeks out distinct interests and personality traits to establish a unique identity and reduce direct comparison or rivalry with siblings.

Sibling Collusion

A collaborative dynamic wherein siblings form a supportive alliance to promote, reinforce, or engage in shared antisocial behavior and rule violations.

Margaret Mead's Cultural Models

An anthropological framework classifying societies by the speed of cultural transmission: Postfigurative (slow change; youth learn from elders), Cofigurative (moderate change; peers and adults teach each other), and Prefigurative (rapid change; youth teach elders).

Normative vs. Informational Social Influence

Conformity driven by the desire to gain group approval or avoid social sanctions contrasted with conformity motivated by the assumption that peers possess more accurate knowledge in ambiguous settings.

Sociometric Status Categories

Peer classifications derived from peer nominations of liking and disliking: Popular (high preference, high impact), Rejected (low preference, high impact), Neglected (low impact, low preference), Controversial (high impact, mixed preference), and Average (moderate scores).

Sociometric Popularity vs. Perceived Popularity

Peer status based on horizontal likeability, kindness, and trust contrasted with status based on social power, prestige, and dominance that is frequently sustained through strategic relational aggression.

PREVNet Pillars

The comprehensive four-pronged Canadian national framework for preventing bullying and interpersonal aggression, structured around Education, Assessment, Intervention, and Policy.

Cliques vs. Crowds

Small, tight-knit peer groups defined by regular personal interactions and emotional ties (linked by liaisons or excluding isolates) contrasted with broad, reputation-based social categories (such as Jocks or Brains) that define an individual's collective peer standing.

School Transition Models

Structural grade arrangements (such as $8-4$, $6-3-3$, or $5-3-4$ middle school configurations) that can trigger disruptions in academic motivation, self-esteem, and social connectedness during institutional shifts.

Performance vs. Mastery Orientation

An achievement mindset prioritizing competitive comparison, external recognition, and grade outcomes contrasted with an intrinsic focus on skill acquisition, personal improvement, and self-efficacy.

Authoritative School Climate

An educational context that integrates rigorous academic standards and behavioral boundaries (high demandingness) with teacher warmth, support, and equity (high responsiveness), fostering school membership.

Causal Attributions for Achievement (Weiner)

A cognitive attribution framework classifying explanations for success and failure across locus of causality and stability: Ability (internal, stable), Effort (internal, unstable), Task Difficulty (external, stable), and Luck (external, unstable).

Mentors and Social Capital

Non-parental adult role models who provide essential emotional backing and instrumental bridges to institutional resources, professional contacts, and developmental opportunities.

Premature Affluence

A condition in which adolescents earn substantial discretionary funds through part-time employment without carrying regular adult living expenses (such as rent or utilities), often encouraging poor budgeting and heightened expenditures on consumer items or substance use.