Autonomy

Autonomy

The capacity to make independent decisions and govern oneself.

Emotional Autonomy

The establishment of more adultlike and less childish close relationships with family members and peers.

Cognitive Autonomy

The ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.

Behavioural Autonomy

Having independent values, opinions, and beliefs.

Individuation

A gradual process where adolescents take responsibility for themselves, recognizing parents as individuals beyond their parental roles.

Detachment Theory

Anna Freud proposed that puberty leads to family conflict, resulting in emotional separation (detachment).

Authoritative Parenting

Balances independence with emotional closeness, fostering healthy autonomy.

Authoritarian Parenting

May lead to dependence or rebellion in adolescents.

Permissive/Indifferent Parenting

Can result in psychological dependence on peers.

Adolescent Development

The process of growth and change during the teenage years, involving physical, emotional, and cognitive changes.

Evolutionary Perspective

Adolescent independence-seeking is a natural consequence of sexual and physical maturation.

Puberty

Drives the adolescent away from exclusive emotional dependence on the family and towards forming attachment to others.

Independent Decisions

The ability to make choices without relying on others.

Growth of Independence

Movement away from dependence, characterized by a gradual transition.

Social Roles

Changes in activities and expectations during adolescence that raise concerns about independence.

Emotional Energy

The investment of emotional resources in relationships outside of the family.

Older Adolescents

Individuals in the later stages of adolescence who no longer rush to parents when upset.

Family Conflict

Disagreements within the family that may arise during the adolescent years.

Psychological Dependence

Reliance on peers for emotional support and decision-making.

Good Judgement

The ability to make wise decisions based on reasoning and understanding.

Transition Support

Assistance provided to adolescents as they navigate changes in their independence and relationships.

Course Concepts

Key ideas and principles discussed in the context of adolescent development.

Overparenting

A very high level of parenting responsiveness and high demands for child success, often resulting in parental behaviours that reduce demands on the child to undertake actions that would effect change in their own life.

Effects of Overparenting

Thought to result in reduced child resilience, a sense of entitlement, child anxiety, reduced life skills, and an inadequate sense of responsibility or self-efficacy.

Emotional Autonomy

The ability of a child to see parental flaws, depend on self rather than parents, and recognize things about the self that parents did not know.

Psychological Control

Parents who engage in higher levels of psychologically controlling behavior convey to their children that they have no control over life events.

Indicators of Emotional Autonomy

Signs that indicate a child's emotional autonomy, such as seeing parental flaws and depending on self rather than parents.

Mature Decision-Making

The product of both cognitive abilities and emotional factors, which do not develop simultaneously.

Rostrolateral Prefrontal Cortex (RLPFC)

Thought to play an important role in supporting the integration of abstract, often self-generated, thoughts.

Development of RLPFC

Behavioural studies have provided evidence of a prolonged development of the cognitive functions associated with RLPFC, particularly logical and relational reasoning.

Peer Influence

Adolescents are more susceptible to peer influence than adults are.

Responding to Peer Pressure

Most peer pressure happens in the absence of adults, with conformity to peers being greater during the first half of adolescence.

Adolescent Decision-Making

It is difficult to determine when adolescents can make legal decisions as well as adults.

Consequences of Susceptibility

The consequences of susceptibility to peer pressure depend on who the peers are.

Age and Peer Pressure

One possible reason for why adolescents respond to peer pressure is that it is especially strong around age 14.

Orientation Toward Others

Adolescents have a heightened orientation toward other people, influencing their responses to peer pressure.

Adolescent Brain Functioning

Being around other teenagers changes the way the adolescent brain functions, activating regions associated with rewards.

Social Networks

Indicators of emotional autonomy may include decreasing size of social networks.

Decision-Making Abilities

Changes in decision-making abilities are linked to improvements in perspective taking, hypothetical thinking, and self-regulation.

Conformity and Parental Authority

Drawing distinctions between aspects of life that one must conform and not conform with parental authority is an indicator of emotional autonomy.

Functional Neuroimaging Studies

Provide further support for a prolonged development of RLPFC during adolescence, with evidence of increased specialization of RLPFC activation for relational integration.

Episodic Memory Retrieval

RLPFC is associated with episodic memory retrieval and prospective memory.

Nucleus Accumbens (Nac)

A key brain region involved in reward, motivation, and reinforcement learning.

Cognitive Autonomy

The establishment of an independent set of values, opinions, and beliefs.

Moral Reasoning

Transition from concrete to abstract moral thinking.

Beliefs and Values

Formation of personal beliefs and values, moving away from parental or societal imposition.

Political and Religious Thinking

Development of independent political and religious views.

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Can think about political, religious, and moral issues from a variety of perspectives?

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Beliefs are rooted in specific circumstances and not general principles?

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Beliefs reflect parental values/expectations?

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Can view peer beliefs more as reflecting one way of viewing the world?

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Can temporarily adopt the perspective of the other side and argue for a position without making it their own?

Indicators of Cognitive Autonomy

Expects sensible people to hold the same beliefs?

Heinz Dilemma

A man named Heinz has a wife who is very sick and near death. There is a drug that could save her, but the druggist who discovered it is charging ten times what it cost to make. Heinz tries to raise the money, but he can only gather half of what the drug costs. He pleads with the druggist to lower the price or let him pay later, but the druggist refuses. Desperate, Heinz breaks into the pharmacy and steals the drug to save his wife.

Moral Development

The dominant theoretical viewpoint in the study of moral reasoning is grounded in Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Moral Development

Researchers assess individuals' moral reasoning by examining their responses to hypothetical dilemmas about difficult real-world situations.

Moral Development

Prosocial reasoning becomes more sophisticated during late adolescence.

Moral Development

Some research connects these changes in reasoning to developments in regions of the brain that govern our ability to look at things from other people's perspectives - theory of mind and empathy.

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Principle I: Respect for the inherent worth, non-discrimination, moral rights, distributive, social and natural justice.

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Principle I: Caring - competence, maximization of benefit, and minimization of harm.

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Principle II: Responsible honesty, openness, & straightforwardness.

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Principle III: Integrity in Relationships - increase knowledge of the field and promote well-being of all humans.

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Principle IV: Responsibility to Society.

Informed Consent

Seek as full and active participation as possible from individuals and groups in decisions that affect them, respecting and integrating as much as possible their opinions and wishes.

Freedom of Consent

Respect the moral right of individuals and groups to discontinue participation or service at any time.

Assent (adolescents)

Parents/caregivers provide consent for children/adolescents <18 years.

Assent (adolescents)

Adolescents can provide assent before beginning services.

Assent (adolescents)

Do they understand the purpose, have any questions, and give permission to continue?