Chapter 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Adolescence

developmental transition between childhood and adulthood entailing major physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes

puberty

process by which a person attains sexual maturity and the ability to reproduce

two stages of puberty

1. activation of adrenal glands 2. maturing of sex organs a few years later

primary sex characteristics

organs directly related to reproduction, which enlarge and mature during adolescence

secondary sex characteristics

physiological signs of sexual maturation (such as breast development and growth of body hair) that do not involve sex organs

signs of puberty

breast tissue and pubic hair in girls and enlargement of testes in boys

spermarche

boy's first ejaculation

menarch

girl's first period

secular trend

trend that can be seen only be observing several generations, such as the trend toward earlier attainment of adult height and sexual maturity, which began a century ago in some countries

two brain networks

1. socioemotional network: is sensitive to social and emotional stimuli, such as peer influence 2. cognitive-control network that regulates responses to stimuli

amygdala

small almond shaped structure in the temporal lobe that is heavily involved in emotional and instinctual reactions in early adolescents (ages 11 to 13).

body image

descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one's appearance

anorexia nervosa

eating disorder characterized by self-starvation

bulimia nervosa

eating disorder characterized by eating large quantities of food, followed by purging with vomiting, fasting, exercising or laxative abuse

binge eating disorder

frequent binging without subsequent fasting, exercising or vomiting

substance abuse

repeated, harmful use of substance usually alcohol or drugs

substance dependence

addiction (physical or psychological, or both) to a harmful substance

formal operations

Piaget's final stage of cognitive development, characterized by the ability to think abstractly

hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Piaget: accompanies the formal operations; ability to develop, consider and test hypothesis

metacognition

the awareness and monitoring of one's own mental processes and strategies

declarative knowledge

acquired factual knowledge stored in long-term memory

procedural knowledge

acquired skills stored in long-term memory

conceptual knowledge

acquired interpretive understandings stored in long-term memory

changes in information processing

information-processing researchers have identified two broad categories of measurable change in adolescent cognition: structural change and functional change

structural change

changes in working memory capacity and the increasing amount of knowledge stored in long-term memory

functional change

processes for obtaining, handling and retaining information (learning, remembering, and reasoning)

social-perspective talking

ability to tailor speech to another person's level of knowledge and point of view

preconventional morality

first level of Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning in which control is external and rules are obeyed in order to gain rewards or avoid punishment or out of self-interest (ages 4 to 10)

conventional morality (morality of conventional role conformity)

second level of Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning in which standards of authority figures are internalized (typically reached after age 10)

post conventional morality (morality of autonomous moral principles)

third level of Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning, in which people follow internally held moral principles and can decide among conflicting moral standards (commonly reached by young adulthood)

self-efficacy

belief that one can master tasks and regulate their own learning

active engagement

personal involvement in schooling, work, family and other activity

The precise time for the burst of hormonal activity that triggers the onset of puberty depends on

reaching a critical weight level

frontal lobes

older adolescents use the frontal lobes, which handles planning, reasoning, judgement, emotional regulation, and impulse control. Underdeveloped frontal cortical systems is associates with motivation, impulsivity, and addition

GnRH hormone

gonadatropin; released in the hypothalamus during puberty and leads to a rise in two key reproductive hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH) in boys and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in girls.

dehydroepiandroseterone

DHEA: androgen released by the adrenal glands between the ages of 6 and 8 during the first stage of puberty

common criticism of Kohlberg's theory of moral development

Kohlberg neglected to consider the relationship between moral reasoning and moral behavior.