Adolescent development week 3

Neuroconstructivist view

Emphasises that adolescent cognitive development is both biologically grounded and contextually sensitive, with individual trajectories reflecting unique combinations of genetic, social, cultural, and experiential influences.

Prefrontal cortex

The brain’s executive centre responsible for decision-making, impulse control, and planning; matures gradually during adolescence.

Limbic system

Includes structures like the amygdala and nucleus accumbens; involved in processing emotions and rewards, matures earlier than the PFC; matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex, contributing to emotional reactivity in adolescence.

Corpus Callosum

connects the two hemispheres of the brain and facilitates communication between them. It continues to develop during adolescence, enhancing the integration of cognitive and emotional information across hemispheres; supports complex tasks 

Cerebellum 

cognitive processes such as attention, language, and emotional regulation. It continues to mature into the mid-20s, supporting the fine-tuning of thought and behaviour.

Information processing approach

Focuses on improvements in specific mental processes—such as attention, memory, and processing speed—that develop interactively over time.

Teens become better at evaluating their own understanding, monitoring their learning, and adjusting strategies; cqn lead to overconfidence or underestimation of knowledge,

Piaget’s formal operational stage

• Begins around age 11 and enables abstract reasoning, hypothetico-deductive thinking, and scientific problem-solving.

• Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: The ability to generate and test hypotheses systematically, a hallmark of formal operational thinking linked to adolescent problem-solving.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

Argues that cognitive development is shaped by social interaction and cultural tools, with learning internalised through guided support in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The Wechsler tests

• Verbal comprehension

• Visual spatial

• Fluid reasoning

• Working memory

• Processing speed

This allows for a more detailed understanding of an adolescent’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses.

Gene–environment correlation

A developmental shift in adolescence where genetic influences on IQ become more prominent as individuals begin selecting environments aligned with their inherited traits.

Critiques of IQ testing

While IQ tests predict academic and life outcomes, they miss broader forms of intelligence, prompting alternative models like Sternberg’s and Gardner’s theories.

Executive functioning

A set of cognitive skills including inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning that support self-regulation and goal-directed behaviour.

Metacognition

The ability to think about one’s own thinking; improves in adolescence and supports self-monitoring and academic independence.

Psychometric approach

A method of measuring cognitive abilities through standardized tests that assess individual differences and provide an overall IQ score.

Norm referenced testing

A scoring system where an individual’s IQ is compared to a representative population, with 100 as the average benchmark.

Gene–environment correlation

A developmental shift in adolescence where genetic influences on IQ become more prominent as individuals begin selecting environments aligned with their inherited traits.

Practical cognition

Refers to the application of cognitive skills like reasoning and problem-solving in real-world, emotionally meaningful situations.

Critical thinking

The ability to analyse information, assess its validity, connect it to prior knowledge, and draw reasoned conclusions.

not automatic. It depends significantly on:

• Educational environments that encourage dialogue and analytical reasoning

• A strong foundation in factual knowledge built during childhood

• Instruction that explicitly teaches metacognitive strategies and encourages students to question assumptions

Metacognitive strategies

Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and evaluating one’s own understanding, which support critical thinking development.

Behavioural decision theory

A model describing decision making as a five-step process involving option identification, consequence evaluation, and outcome integration.

Decision Making

1. identifying options

2. Considering possible consequences

3. Evaluating the desirability of those outcomes

4. Estimating their likelihood

5. Integrating this information into a final decision

Psychosocial influences

Factors like peer pressure and emotional arousal that affect adolescent decision making.

Social cognition

Refers to how individuals understand and reason about their social world, including relationships, roles, and other people's thoughts and intentions.

Perspective taking

A developmental skill described by Selman involving the ability to understand others’ viewpoints, progressing through stages.

Adolescent egocentrism

A cognitive pattern in adolescence involving heightened self-focus, including concepts of imaginary audience and personal fable.

Adolescents are learning to think about what others think—an advanced form of metacognition that may occasionally become exaggerated.

Imaginary audience

The belief that one is constantly being watched and judged by others, contributing to adolescent self-consciousness.

Personal fable

The belief in one's own uniqueness and invulnerability, leading to risk-taking and supporting identity formation.

Cultural psychology

Emphasises that cognitive development is shaped by cultural values, tools, and practices, challenging universal models of cognition.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives

knowledge is passed on through:

• Oral traditions

• Observation and imitation

• Storytelling

• Relationships with land (Country), kinship networks, and Dreaming narrative

occurs through participation in 

• Ceremonial practices

• Hunting and ecological care

• Cultural responsibilities

Sociocultural theory

Proposed by Vygotsky, it views cognitive development as a social and cultural process, where learning occurs through guided interaction.

Guided participation

A concept by Rogoff describing how adolescents learn cognitive skills by engaging in culturally meaningful activities alongside knowledgeable individuals.

Indigenous perspectives on cognition

Highlight holistic, relational, and ecological approaches to learning, emphasizing connection to Elders, Country, and community.

Culturally responsive education

Advocates for recognising and incorporating diverse ways of knowing—especially Indigenous knowledge systems—into education and assessment practices.