Adolescent Psychology Exam 1: Chapters 1-5

G. Stanley Hall

Father of the scientific study of adolescence; strongly influenced by Charles Darwin; development almost entirely determined by genetics/biological factors (very little influence from the environment)

Adolescence (definition)

Period of transition between childhood and adulthood involving cognitive, biological, and socioemotional changes

Storm and Stress

turbulent time filled with conflict and mood swings

Margaret Mead

anthropologist who studied adolescents in Samoa; concluded that the nature of adolescence is sociocultural rather than biological

Mead's sociocultural view

Cultures that provide a smooth, gradual transition from childhood to adulthood found little "storm and stress". However, in the United States, where there is a bigger distinction from adolescence to adulthood, the adolescent period will be more stressful.

Social policy

course of action designed by the national government to influence the welfare of its citizens

Stereotype

a generalization that reflects our impressions and beliefs about a broad category of people; once we assign a stereotype, it is difficult to abandon it

positive youth development (PYD)

reflects the positive psychology approach; emphasizes the strengths of youths and positive qualities and developmental trajectories that are desired for youth

5 "C's" of PYD

competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring/compassion

periods of development

eight periods: prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood

prenatal period

the time from conception to birth

infancy

period of birth to 24 months; Extreme dependence on adults; Many psychological activities (language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor development, social learning, parent-child relationships)

early childhood

2-6 years of age; Preschool years; Become more self-sufficient; Develop school readiness (follow instructions, identify letters/numbers, play with peers)

middle and late childhood

6-11 years of age; Elementary school years; Master fundamental skills (reading, writing, etc.); Formally exposed to larger world and culture; Achievement becomes central theme; Self-control increases

adolescence

Period of transition between childhood and adulthood involving cognitive, biological, and socioemotional changes

early adolescence

middle school; pubertal changes

late adolescence

highschool; Career interests, dating, and identity exploration; Separation and individuation

emerging adulthood

18-25 years of age; identity exploration, instability, self-focused, feeling in-between, age of possibilities; cultural differences define emerging adulthood.

early adulthood

20's and 30's; Establishing personal and economic independence, career development intensifies

middle adulthood

40's-50's; Often parents of adolescents; Desire to transmit values; Increased reflection on the meaning of life; Enhanced concern about one's body

late adulthood

60's, 70's to end of life; Decreasing strength and health; Retirement; Reduced income; Reviewing one's life; Changing social roles; Lessened responsibility and increased freedom?

continuity

development involving gradual, cumulative changes; developmentalists who emphasize experience favor this theory of process

discontinuity

development in distinct stages; developmentalists who emphasize nature favor this theory

resilience

refers to adapting positively and achieving successful outcomes in the face of significant risks and adverse circumstance

Hormones

chemical substances in body substances in the body produced by endocrine glands; control glands; control physiological responses and growth

Androgens

main class of male hormones

Estrogens

main class of female hormones

Adrenarche

hormonal changes in the adrenal gland (ages 6-9)

Menarche

first menstruation (mature follicles occur approximately 2 years later)

Spermarche

first ejaculation (mature sperm Spermarche - first ejaculation (mature sperm occur approximately 1 year later)

genotype

a person's genetic heritage; their actual genetic material

phenotype

the way an individual's genotype is expressed; includes physical characteristics such as height, skin color, and eye color, as well as psychological characteristics such as intelligence, creativity, and personality

schema

a mental concept or framework that is useful in organizing and interpreting information; Piaget was interested in how children use these to interpret their experiences

critical thinking

thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating evidence

creativity

the ability to think in novel ways and discover unique solutions to problems

convergent thinking

produces one correct answer; kind of thinking required on a conventional intelligence test

divergent thinking

produces many answers to one question; is more of a characteristic of creativity

executive functioning

higher-order, complex cognitive processes; involved in the development of the brain's prefrontal cortex; involve managing one's thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control; hard at work when an adolescent is making decisions, thinking critically, and engaged in thinking about thinking

Piaget's Cognitive Development

five stages; include sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational, and Postformal thought stages

Sensorimotor stage

coordination of sensory input and motor output

Preoperational stage

child represents world with symbols and images

Concrete operational stage

beginning of logical reasoning, understanding of conservation

Formal operational stage

abstract reasoning

Postformal thought

characterized by an understanding of sarcasm, poetry, metaphor - often subjective and relativistic (Neo-Piagetians)

Intelligence

the ability to solve problems and adapt and learn from experiences.

adolescent generalization gap

Joseph Adelson coined this term to refer to generalizations that are based on information about a limited, often highly visible group of adolescents

Erikson's 8 stages of psychosocial development

Trust vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs shame and doubt, initiative vs guilt, industry vs inferiority, identity versus identity confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs stagnation, and integrity vs despair

Trust vs Mistrust

0-1 y/o;

Autonomy vs shame and doubt

1-3 y/o; infants/toddlers realize their behavior is their own and assert independence

initiative vs guilt

3-5 y/o; occurs during preschool years when a child begins to experience new social settings and face challenges that require active, purposeful, and responsible behavior

industry vs inferiority

6-11 y/o; elementary school age in which children begin mastering educational concepts

identity versus identity confusion

10-20 years; occurs during adolescence when they explore roles to find whom they want to be

intimacy vs isolation

20s-30s; early adulthood when one begins attempting to form a healthy and intimate relationship with another individual

generativity vs stagnation

40s-50s; often parents to children, want to pass what they have learned along and feel that they have done something meaningful

integrity vs despair

60s to death; period of reflection on the past that lead to either positive or negative feelings

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model

posits that development is influenced by five environmental systems; microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem

microsystem

the setting in which an adolescent lives; includes family, peers, neighborhood, and school; most direct social agent interactions occur in this system

mesosystem

relations between microsystems; examples such as school to family experiences, school to religious experiences, family to peer experiences; ex: a student whose family has rejected them may have a hard time having a relationship with a teacher

exosystem

social factors for people in microsystem like Mom's job promotion and how it affects the child; links to social settings that the adolescent cannot control

macrosystem

culture in which adolescents live

chronosystem

patterning of environmental events and transitions of life course, such as the family transition after divorce over years

Sigmund Freud

Believed that children's focus of pleasure and sexual impulses shifts from the mouth to the anus and eventually to the genitals; believed children suffered from tension and UNCONSCIOUS conflict

5 stages of psychosexual development

oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital

oral stage

infant's pleasure centers around the mouth; birth to 1.5 years

anal stage

child's pleasure centers around the anus; 1.5 to 3 years

phallic stage

child-s pleasure focuses on the genitals; 3 to 6 years

latency

child represses sexual interest and focuses on intellectual and social skills; 6 years to puberty

genital

source of genital pleasure becomes someone outside the family; puberty onward

id

no morality; instincts branch of personality; totally unconscious

ego

no morality; rational decisions; executive branch of personality; deals with reality

superego

moral branch of personality; thought of as "conscience"

defense mechanisms

unconscious methods of distorting reality that the ego uses to protect itself from the anxiety produced by the conflicting demands of the three branches of personality; repression most powerful and pervasive method

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Cognitive Theory

Theory that emphasizes how culture and social interactions guide cognitive development; portrayed development as inseparable from social and cultural activities

social constructivist approach

emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction

Cross-sectional research

a research strategy that involves studying different people of varying ages all at one time

longitudinal research

participants are studied for extremely long periods of time

experimental research

trying new factors, while keeping all others the same (constant) to see what changes and what causes the change

descriptive research

aims to observe and record a behavior

Observations (method)

in real world or laboratory.

Survey and Interview (method)

quick and easy, but participants answer according to how they think they should, socially.

Standardized Tests (method)

can't take into consideration personality, intelligence, and behavior

Physiological Measures (method)

neuroimaging and brain activity measures

Experience Sampling (method)

participants are given pagers that beep. when it beeps, participants are supposed to report what they are doing at that moment.

Case Study (method)

in-depth look at a person. But, everyone is different, so a comparison is difficult.

independent variable

the factor that is manipulated

dependent variable

the factor that is measured

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

refers to the range of tasks that are too difficult for an individual to master alone, but that can be mastered with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled peers

Collaborative learning

an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product.

scaffolding

a teaching method that helps students learn more by working with a teacher or a more advanced student to achieve their learning goals

Sternberg's Triarchie Theory of Intelligence

states that intelligence comes in three forms: analytical, creative, and practical

analytical intelligence

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

creative intelligence

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

practical intelligence

ability to use, apply, implement, and put ideas into action

Howard Garner's Multiple Intelligences (Frames of Mind)

eight types of intelligences; verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist

Verbal

ability to think in words and use language to express meaning

mathematical

ability to carry out mathematical operations

spatial

ability to think three-dimensionally

bodily-kinesthetic

ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept

musical

a sensitivity to pitch, rhythm, melody, and tone

interpersonal

the ability to understand and effectively interact with others