Adolescent Development

Adolescent Development

Overview of Adolescence

• Adolescence is a socially constructed period of development that begins at puberty and ends in emerging adulthood or mid to late twenties.

• Typical age range: 12 to 18 years.

• In modern contexts, adolescence involves developing independence while maintaining connections to parents.

Physical Development

• Begins with puberty, involving physical changes such as adrenarche (maturation of adrenal glands) and gonadarche (maturation of sex glands).

• Primary Sexual Characteristics:

  • Organs needed for reproduction: uterus and ovaries (females); testes (males).

• Secondary Sexual Characteristics:

  • Physical signs of maturation not directly linked to reproduction (e.g., breast development, voice deepening).

• Girls experience menarche around ages 12-13; boys experience spermarche around ages 13-14.

• Growth Spurts:

  • Girls typically start before boys (ages 8-13 for girls; age 10-16 for boys).

• Long-term implications of early vs. late maturation:

  • Early maturing boys often face risks like substance abuse; accepted socially, yet struggle with early responsibilities.

  • Early maturing girls may face self-consciousness and risks of depression or eating disorders.

  • Late bloomers may experience negative feelings and bullying due to being behind peers in development.

Cognitive Development

• Transition into formal operational thought, enabling abstract thinking, consideration of hypothetical situations, and debate on complex issues.

• Cognitive empathy begins to develop, aiding in understanding the perspectives and feelings of others.

• Increased ability to express and navigate complex social situations due to brain development, particularly in the prefrontal cortex.

Psychosocial Development

• The focus on identity vs. role confusion is emphasized through Erikson's theory, where adolescents question their identities.

• Peer interactions become central as they explore their identities, often resulting in distancing from parents.

• Conflicts with parents tend to be minor and decrease over time, contrary to the notion of stormy adolescent years.

• Positive familial relationships correlate with better social outcomes.

Identity Formation

• Marcia's identity statuses include:

  • Foreclosure: Commitment without exploration.

  • Diffusion: No commitment or exploration.

  • Moratorium: Active exploration without commitment.

  • Achievement: Exploration followed by commitment.

• Exploration of racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identity includes understanding socialization and experiences that shape individual identities.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

• Theory Overview:

  • Developed by Lawrence Kohlberg who built on Piaget's work, suggesting that moral reasoning progresses through stages based on cognitive development.

• Moral Dilemmas:

  • Kohlberg used moral dilemmas (e.g., Heinz dilemma) to gauge moral reasoning.

• Stages of Moral Development:

  • Level 1 - Preconventional Morality:

    • Stage 1: Obedience and punishment orientation (avoiding punishment).

    • Stage 2: Individual interest (self-interest driven).

  • Level 2 - Conventional Morality:

    • Stage 3: Interpersonal accord (social approval).

    • Stage 4: Authority and social order (following laws).

  • Level 3 - Postconventional Morality:

    • Stage 5: Social contract (balancing rights with social order).

    • Stage 6: Universal ethical principles (internalized moral principles).

• Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory:

  • Carol Gilligan argued his theory often portrayed female moral reasoning as deficient, emphasizing relational ethics over hierarchical reasoning.

Research on Moral Reasoning in Infants by Hamlin and Wynn

• Methodology:

  • Employed puppet shows to assess infants' moral reasoning through nonverbal behavior (e.g., preferences).

• Experiment 1:

  • Infants preferred the "giver" puppet (helping behavior) over the "taker" puppet (hindering behavior).

  • Infants displayed moral preferences as young as five months, suggesting innate moral reasoning.

• Experiment 2:

  • Explored infants' judgments based on behaviors of puppets shown in previous puppet scenarios (helper vs. hinderer).

  • Results indicated that infants showed preferences for behaviors aligned with past interactions—infants preferred characters that exhibited helpful behaviors towards other puppets.

• Experiment 3:

  • Examined whether infants prefer helpers based on shared preferences. Results revealed infants favored puppets that shared their food preferences while demonstrating that social similarity impacted moral judgments.

• Conclusion on Infant Moral Reasoning:

  • The research suggests infants possess a nuanced understanding of prosocial vs. antisocial behavior, indicating earlier development of moral reasoning than previously theorized.

Adolescent Development

Overview of Adolescence

Adolescence is a socially constructed period of development that begins at puberty and ends in emerging adulthood, typically around the mid to late twenties.

• Typical age range: 12 to 18 years, though the experiences of adolescence can vary significantly between individuals.

• In modern contexts, adolescents deal with the dual challenge of developing independence from caregivers while maintaining connections and relationships with their parents and family.

Physical Development

Physical development during adolescence begins with puberty, which encompasses a series of biological changes that lead to reproductive maturity. Two key processes are involved in puberty:

• Adrenarche: The maturation of the adrenal glands, which occurs around ages 6-9 and marks the beginning of physical changes.

• Gonadarche: The maturation of the sex glands, leading to the development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics.

Primary Sexual Characteristics:

• Definition: Organs essential for reproduction.

• Females: Uterus and ovaries.

• Males: Testes.

Secondary Sexual Characteristics:

• Definition: Physical signs of maturation not directly associated with reproduction.

• Examples include breast development in females and voice deepening in males.

• Girls experience menarche (the first menstrual period) around ages 12-13, while boys experience spermarche (the first ejaculation) around ages 13-14.

Growth Spurts:

• On average, girls typically begin their growth spurts earlier than boys, with growth occurring from ages 8-13 for girls and age 10-16 for boys.

• Long-term Implications of Early vs. Late Maturation:

  • Early maturing boys may face risks like substance abuse, being socially accepted but struggling with responsibilities they are not emotionally ready for.

  • Early maturing girls may deal with issues of self-consciousness, and are at higher risks for depression and eating disorders due to societal pressures.

  • Late bloomers, whether male or female, often experience negative feelings, social rejection, or bullying for being behind their peers in physical development.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive growth during adolescence marks the transition into formal operational thought, which allows for:

• Abstract thinking: The ability to think about abstract concepts and hypothetical situations.

• Complex issue debate: Engaging in discussions on social, moral, and ethical issues.

• Cognitive empathy: This begins to develop, allowing adolescents to understand and relate to the perspectives and emotional states of others better.

• Social navigation: Enhanced capabilities to express themselves and navigate multifaceted social situations, largely due to ongoing brain development, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation.

Psychosocial Development

The psychosocial landscape during adolescence is heavily influenced by Erikson's theory, emphasizing the struggle between identity and role confusion. Key aspects include:

• Identity Exploration: Adolescents actively explore their identities, often seeking a sense of self that differentiates from that of their parents.

• Peer Relationships: Teenagers place increasing importance on friendships and social networks, sometimes leading to a temporary distancing from familial connections.

• Minor Conflicts with Parents: Contrary to common stereotypes of tumultuous adolescent years, conflicts with parents are often minor and tend to decrease as adolescents mature.

• Strong familial relationships generally correlate with better social outcomes and healthier emotional development.

Identity Formation

Marcia's identity statuses provide a framework for understanding adolescent identity formation:

• Foreclosure: Commitment to identity without exploration (e.g., following parental expectations without personal discovery).

• Diffusion: Lack of commitment to any identity or direction.

• Moratorium: Active exploration of different identities without committing to one.

• Achievement: Successful exploration that leads to a strong sense of identity.

• Identity exploration encompasses racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities, and it involves an understanding of the socialization processes and experiences that shape one's individual identity.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Theory Overview:

Developed by Lawrence Kohlberg, his theory posits that moral reasoning evolves through stages linked to cognitive development.

Moral Dilemmas:

Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas (such as the Heinz dilemma) to assess the progression of moral reasoning among individuals.

Stages of Moral Development:

1. Level 1 - Preconventional Morality:

   • Stage 1: Obedience and punishment orientation (focusing on avoiding punishment).

   • Stage 2: Individual interest (making decisions based on self-interest).

2. Level 2 - Conventional Morality:

   • Stage 3: Interpersonal accord (seeking social approval).

   • Stage 4: Authority and social order (following laws and rules).

3. Level 3 - Postconventional Morality:

   • Stage 5: Social contract (balancing individual rights with social order).

   • Stage 6: Universal ethical principles (internalizing and applying moral principles based on justice).

Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory:

• Carol Gilligan criticized the theory for often presenting female moral reasoning as inferior, emphasizing the importance of relational ethics over hierarchical structures of thought.

Research on Moral Reasoning in Infants by Hamlin and Wynn

Methodology:

This research utilized puppet shows to evaluate infants' moral reasoning through their nonverbal behavior, focusing on their preferences and reactions.

Experiment 1:

• Objective: Assess infants' preferences concerning pro-social vs. antisocial behaviors.

• Findings: Infants preferred the "giver" puppet that displayed helping behavior over the "taker" puppet that exhibited hindering behavior.

Experiment 2:

• Objective: Investigate how infants judge characters based on prior behaviors.

• Findings: Infants demonstrated preference for puppets that had previously displayed helpfulness, showing an understanding of helpful vs. harmful interactions.

Experiment 3:

• Objective: Examine whether infants preferred helpers based on shared food preferences.

• Findings: Infants favored puppets sharing similar food preferences, illustrating how social similarity can affect moral judgments.

Conclusion on Infant Moral Reasoning:

The results confirm that infants possess a sophisticated understanding of prosocial and antisocial behavior, suggesting that moral reasoning begins to develop earlier than previously thought, around five months of age.