adolescence
transition between childhood and adulthood
puberty
flood of biological events leading to an adult-sized body and sexual maturity
adolescence brings about
vastly expanded powers of reasoning - teenagers can grasp complex scientific and math principles, grapple with social and political issues, and delve deeply into meaning of poem or story
adolescent thought mainly takes place
at school
biological & social forces
jointly determine adolescent psychological change
Margaret Mead's theory
social environment is entirely responsible for range of emotional teenager experiences. Later researchers found that Samoan teenagers not as troubled as she thought. But she showed that to understand adolescent development, must pay more attention to soci
Piaget's Formal Operational Stage
age 11+, develop capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking, can come up with new, more general logical rules through internal reflection
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
first stage of Formal Operational Stage, when faced with a problem, adolescents start with a hypothesis - prediction about variables that might affect outcome, from which they deduce logical, testable inferences. Then they systematically isolate and combi
propositional thought
adolescents' ability to evaluate logic of propositions (verbal statements) without referring to real-world circumstances
Formal Operational Stage
attention in adolescence
becomes more selective, focused on revelant information, and better adapted to the changing demands of tasks
information processing view
inhibition in adolescence
both of irrelevant information and of well-learned responses in inappropriate situations in improves - supports gains in attention and reasoning
information processing view
adolescence strategies
become more effective, improving storage, representation, and information retrieval
information processing view
adolescence knowledge
increases easing strategy use
information processing view
adolescence metacognition
(awareness of thought) expands, leading to new insights into effective strategies for acquiring information and solving problems
information processing
adolescence cognitive self-regulation
improves, yielding better moment-by-moment monitoring, evaluation, and redirection of thinking
information processing
adolescence speed of thinking and processing capacity
increase. More information can be held at once in working memory & combined into increasingly complex, efficient representations, opening possibilities for growth in the capacities just listed & improving as a result of gains in those capacities
informati
imaginary audience
adolescent belief that they are the focus of everyone else's concern & attention - causes self-consciousness
personal fable
big ego,
Topics of Adolescence
� Puberty:
o Growth spurt
o Hips widening in females
� Body image
� Acne
� Dating
� Braces
� Sexual activity
o Lack of knowledge can result in STDs
Boys Sex differences in Body Growth in Adolescence
o Growth spurt: starts at 12.5
o Proportions: shoulders broaden, longer legs
o Muscle-fat makeup: gain more muscle, aerobic efficiency
Girls Sex differences in Body Growth in Adolescence
o Growth spurt: Starts age 10
o Proportions: Hips broaden
o Muscle-fat makeup: Add more fat
Adolescent Brain Development
Synaptic pruning continues Prefrontal cortex Cognitive advances: attention, planning, integrating information, self regulation
Expansion of synaptic connections, myelination Linkages among cortical regions strengthen Cognitive advances: attention, plannin
The reason risky behavior and moral center of adolescent brain isn't fully wired and set up yet
o Not thinking ahead on the consequences
Adolescence
o The passage from childhood to adulthood
Puberty
o Process that leads to sexual maturity or fertility
o The shift body wise
o Also change in responsibility- you're no longer a kid. If you screw up there are consequences
o Social network shifts
o First jobs
Adolescent Growth Spurt
� A rapid increase in height and weight
� Teens become concerned about appearance
� A lot of time they struggle with the changes
� Different clothing desires
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
� Menarche
o Change from 17 years during 1800s to 13 years
o Changes due to nutrition
o 9,10,11 first time getting menstruation
� first time for adolescent male "wet dreams" also confusion on what' s happening to their body
Primary Sex Characteristics
� Females
o Uterus
o Vagina
� Males
o Testes
o Scrotum
� Many turn to peers to ask - feel uncomfortable talking to parents
adolescence
menarche
o Change from 17 years during 1800s to 13 years
o Changes due to nutrition
Argument today: steroids and hormones and foods we eat has triggered and earlier onsets of menstrual cycle
o Estrogen in girls and testosterone levels in boys rise
Female secondary sex characteristics
breast development
pelvis changes
adolescence
male secondary sex characteristics
o Broad shoulders
o Facial hair
o Vocal chords need to enlarge by 50% by adult
adolescence
African American girls often develop before Caucasian girls
no definitive evidence
adolescence
Two Major Brain Changes in adolescence
� Growth Spurt
o Chiefly in frontal lobes
Prefrontal cortex- impulses, morals- example: Famous Phineas Gage story- which was beginning of real studies
o Reasoning, judgment, and impulse control
� Gray matter growth
o Facilitated maturation of cognitive ab
growth spurt
o Chiefly in frontal lobes
Prefrontal cortex- impulses, morals- example: Famous Phineas Gage story- which was beginning of real studies
o Reasoning, judgment, and impulse control
adolescence
gray matter growth
o Facilitated maturation of cognitive abilities
Adolescence don't think of consequences of sexual activity- don't think of STDs and pregnancies
Obesity/Overweight
� US teens are more likely to be overweight than previous generations
o Average teen girl needs ~2200 calories/day
o Average teen boy needs ~2800 calories/day
Males start to gain more muscle- eventually in adulthood males to females muscle mass is 2:1
Die
average teen girl needs
~2200 calories/day
Average teen boy needs ~2800 calories/day
Males start to gain more muscle- eventually in adulthood males to females muscle mass is 2:1
Diet
Not enough exercise
Type 2 diabetes, self conscience, bullying, heart issues- then don't want to go out and socialize
Eating disorders
o Bulimia and anorexia
o 10-15% of anorexics die of starvation (low immune system)
Pica: eating non-edible objects- ex. Gravel, dirt... self injury
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
pica
eating non-edible objects- ex. Gravel, dirt... self injury
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
ANOREXIA
� Behavioral characteristics
o Excessive dieting, compulsive exercising
� Physiological characteristics
o Loss of 15% of body weight, slowed heart rate, body temp down, body hair grows in odd spots (on breasts- wants to give warmth to keep from dying, min
BULIMIA
� Behavioral characteristics
o Vomiting (even vomiting up lining- looks black), laxatives, diuretics, diet pill abuse
� Physiological characteristics
o Weight fluctuates due to gorging and fasting
� Emotional and cognitive characteristics
o Usually wants
adolescent sleep needs
� Sleep decline to less than 8 hours at age 16- adolescents do not get enough sleep
� Changes in circadian timing and melatonin- shifting to what you'll see as an adult
� School schedules
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
� Substance abuse
o Marijuana at 50% usage rate
o Alcohol
75% consumption rate in college and 76% in high school students
Alcohol abuse can cause long term brain damage
adolescence marijuana usage rate
50%
adolescence alcohol usage
75% consumption rate in college and 76% in high school students
Alcohol abuse can cause long term brain damage
U.S. Adolescent Pregnancy Statistics
� About 727,000 teen pregnancies in most recently reported year
o 12,000 younger than age 15
� 1 in 4 end in abortion
� 87% of births to unwed mothers
Risk Factors for Drug Abuse
� Difficult temperament
� Poor impulse control and sensation seeking
� Early and persistent behavior patterns
� Attitudes toward drug use and early initiation
Whiny kids- cortisol in uterus
Adolescent Changes in Information Processing
� Structural increases in processing capacity
o Expansion of working memory
� Functional
o Increased ability to obtain, handle, and retain information
o Mathematical and scientific reasoning
imaginary audience
(everyone is always looking at them)
o Adolescents belief that others are interested in them
personal fable
o Adolescents unique and invincible - injuries
Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
high school dropouts
o Earn 43% less than graduates
o Dropouts rates declined
Financial limitations
High School Dropout Prevention Strategies
� Remedial instruction
� Personalized counseling
� High-quality vocational training
� Addressing personal factors related to dropout
� Extracurricular participation
Teen Species Boys: (TLC VIDEO)
� Voice box grows 50% by puberty
� At age 14 boys can grow up to 4 inches in one year