Adolescent Development

interpersonal adolescence marker

beginning of shift in interest from parental to peer relationships

social adolescence marker

beginning of training for adult work, family, and citizen roles

educational adolescence marker

entrance into junior high school

legal adolescence marker

attainment of juvenile status

chronological adolescence marker

attainment of designated age of adolescence (10 years)

early adolescence

10-13, individuals are figuring out their group identity, peer influence peeks

middle adolescence

14-17

late adolescence

18-21, personal identity exploration begins to occur

emerging adulthood

18-25, 18-29, end of this stage depends on length of education, entry into marriage/parenthood, transition to stable work

storm v. stress theory

adolescent development is mainly by biological factors

behavioral theories (skinner)

puts emphasis on behavior: punishment and reinforcement

social cognitive theories (bandura)

learn through modelling and trying to imitate parents, peers, teachers.

psychoanalytic theories

emphasize context as well as biological perspecctives

psychosexual theory (frued)

proposed that development should be understood in terms of sexual conflict appearing in different stages of life. primary motivation for human behaviors are sexual in nature

Psychosocial development theory (erkison)

eight stages that show what crisis we face with our outside environment in each stage. people who succeed in one stage will move onto the next stage. primary motivation for human behaviors is social in nature

theory of cognitive development (piaget)

does not believe children’s thinking are shaped from adults or environments around them. believes they have influence but children make their own decisions

sociocultural theory (vygotsky)

says kids can learn beyond their level and will catch up later. believes children’s learning is shaped by culture, adults, environment

ecological theory (bronfenbrenner)

emphasized the contexts where people develop and different systems people exist within and how they interact

puberty

process involving a series of coordinated neroendocrine changes

androgens higher in

males

estrogens higher in

females

five main changes in thinking from childhood to adolescence

thinking about possibilities, abstract concepts, metacognition, thinking in multiple dimensions, adolescent relativism

adolescent relativism

children tend to see things in absolute terms (either black or white), but adolescent thinking is characterized by the ability to see situations that are not just good or bad

sensorimotor phase (piaget)

0-2, cognitive development involves learning how to coordinate activities of the sense with motor activities

preoperational phase (piaget)

2-7, capable of representing the world symbolically

concrete operational (piaget)

7-11, capable of reasoning logically about concrete events

formal operational (piaget)

11-adulthood, capable of reasoning about more complex tasks and problems. logic thought, deductive reasoning and systematic planning emerge

hypothetical-deductive reasoning

the ability to develop hypotheses about how to solve problems, and then systemically deduce which is the best path to follow

selective attention

focus on one stimulus and ignore the other

divided attention

pay attention to two sets of stimuli at the same time

working memory

the ability to remember something in a short amount of time

long term memory

the ability to recall something from a long time ago

gray matter

refers primarily to dendrites and the cell body of the neuron.

synaptic pruning

unused and unnecessary synapses start to be eliminated, which makes the brain more efficient

white matter

cells that provide support for neurons, myelinated axons

myelination

the process through which the brain circuits are insulated with myelin which improves the efficiency of information processing

neuroconstructivist view

biological processes and environmental experiences influence the brain’s development

synapses

gaps between neurons where connections between the axon and dendrites take place

prefrontal cortex

the judgement region reins in intense emotions but doesn’t finish developing until at least emerging adulthood

corpus callosum

nerve fibers that connect the brain’s two hemispheres; thicken in adolescence to process information more effectively

amygdala

part of the limbic system structure especially involved in emotion

limbic system

a lower, subcortical system in the brain that is the seat of emotions and experience of rewards, almost completely developed in early adolescence

analytical intelligence

the ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast

creative intelligence

the ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine

practical intelligence

the ability to use, apply, implement and put ideas into practice

imaginary audience

belief that everyone is watching

differentiation

adolescents have an understanding that they behave differently around different contexts/people

fluctuating self

the self is characterized by instability until late adolescence

possible self

what individuals might become, what they would like to become as well as what they fear becoming

social comparison

more likely to compare themselves with others

looking glass self

how an individual believes they are viewed by others

perspective taking

the ability to assume another person’s perspective and understanding their thoughts and feelings

self esteem

the global evaluative dimension of the self

self concept

domain specific evaluations of the self

narcissism

self centered and self concerned approach towards others

self regulation

the ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on others help

effortful control

inhibiting impulses and not engaging in destructive behavior

self assertion

the ability to have and communicate a point of view

mutuality

sensitivity to and respect for others’ views and permeability

gender schema theory

children and adolescents pick up gender appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in their culture

gender intensification process

pressures to behave in gender stereotypic ways increase during early and middle adolescence

social role theory

gender differences mainly result from the contrasting roles of females and males

mothers socialization strategies

daughters to be more obedient and responsible than their sons

father’s socialization strategies

sons receive attention, interaction, and effort for intellectual development than daughters

social cognitive theory of gender

children’s and adolescent’s gender development occurs through observation and imitation of gender behavior, and through rewards and punishments they experience for gendered behavior

gender schema theory

gender typing emerges as children and adolescents gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender inappropriate in their culture

rapport talk

the language of conversation and a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships (preferred by girls)

report talk

talk that gives information (preferred by boys)

prosocial behavior

behavior intended to benefit other people, more often performed by girls

quid pro quo sexual harassment

sexual harassment in which a school employee threatens to base an educational decision on a student’s submission to unwelcome sexual conduct

hostile environment sexual harassment

student subjected to unwelcome sexual conduct that is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it limits the students’ ability to benefit from their education

autoerotic behavior

sexual behavior that is experience alone (erotic fantasies, masturbation)