Transcript Adolescence

Adolescence
The transition period from
childhood to adulthood.
Is adolescence getting longer or
shorter?
Physical Development
• It all begins with puberty
Puberty: the period of sexual maturation,
during which a person becomes capable of
reproducing.
Primary Sexual Characteristics
• The body structures that make sexual reproduction
possible
• Female: ovaries (what hormones?) – estrogen,
progesterone
• Male: Testicles (what hormone?) - testosterone
Secondary Sexual Characteristics
• Nonreproductive sexual characteristics
Female breasts, curved
body shape…widening
hips
Deepening of male voice, body hair
When does puberty start?
The Landmarks
• First ejaculation for boys
•Menarche (meh NAR key) for girls
Do we remember these things?
Puberty
Sequence is way more predictable than the
timing.
How might timing differences effect an adolescent socially?
Boys? Girls?
Early bloomers?
Late bloomers?
Frontal Lobe development and
impulse control
• Myelin growth accelerates
• Frontal lobe maturation lags the emotional limbic
system (hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala)
– Pubertal hormonal surge and limbic system
development helps to explain teen’s occasional
impulsiveness, risky behaviors, emotional storms
– Frontal lobes matures by age 25—improved judgment,
impulse control and the ability to plan for the long term
• Are teens responsible for their behavior then?
What has the US Supreme Court said about
juvenile capital cases?
Cognitive Development
• Have the ability to reason but…….
•The reasoning is self-focused. Assume that their
experiences are unique.
•Experience formal operational thought
Lawrence Kohlberg and his stages of
Morality
• Preconventional Morality
• Conventional Morality
• Postconventional Morality
Preconventional Morality
• Morality of self- interest
• Their actions are either to
avoid punishment or to
gain rewards.
Before age 9
Conventional Morality
Morality is based upon obeying
laws to
1. Maintain social order
2. To gain social approval
Early adolescence
Postconventional Morality
• Morality based on your
own ethical principles.
Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder
Postconventional
level
Morality of abstract
principles: to affirm
agreed-upon rights and
personal ethical principles
Conventional
level
Morality of law and
social rules: to gain
approval or avoid
disapproval
Preconventional
level
Morality of self-interest:
to avoid punishment
or gain concrete rewards
As moral
development
progresses, the
focus of concern
moves from the self
to the wider social
world.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of
Moral Development
• Criticisms
– Great deal of overlap
– Gender bias (girls are taught empathy, while
boys are taught justice)
– Cognitive abilities influence moral
development
• See other people’s point of view
– Understanding vs. action
– Culture bound—biased against communal
societies such as China and India
Talk is Cheap
How do we turn morality into action?
• Teach Empathy
• Self-discipline to delay gratification
• Model moral behavior
Social Development
Its all about forming an
identity!!!
Identity
• One’s sense of self.
• The idea that an adolescent’s
job is to find oneself by
testing various roles.
• Comes from Erik Erikson’s
stages of Psychosocial
development.
Identity
• Some teenagers take their identity
early by sharing their parents values
and expectations.
• Some teenagers will adopt a negative
identity- opposition to society, but
conforms to a peer group.
Intimacy
• Towards the end of adolescence,
intimacy becomes the prime goal.
• Can you list the intimacy
differences between men and
women?
Trust vs. Mistrust
Age
Birth - 18
months
Important Description
Event
Feeding Infants form a
loving, trusting
relationship with
parents; they
also learn to
mistrust others.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Age
18 months - 3
Years
Important
Event
Toilet
Training
Description
Child's energies are
directed toward
physical skills:
walking, grasping,
and toilet training.
The child learns
control along with a
healthy dose of
shame and doubt.
Initiative vs. Guilt
Age
Important
Description
Event
3 - 5 Years Independence Child becomes
more assertive,
takes more
initiative,
becomes more
forceful.
Competence vs. Inferiority
Age
6 - 12 Years
Important
Description
Event
School
The child must
deal with
demands to learn
new skills while
risking a sense of
inferiority and
failure
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Age
Important
Description
Event
Adolescence Peers
Teens must achieve
(teens to early 20s)
self-identity while
deciphering their
roles in occupation,
politics, and
religion.
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Age
Important
Description
Event
Young Adult Relationships The young adult
(20s –early 40s)
must develop
marriage-seeking
relationships
while combating
feelings of
isolation.
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Age
Important
Description
Event
Middle Adult Parenting Assuming the role
(40s-60s)
of parents
signifies the need
to continue the
generations while
avoiding the
inevitable feeling
of failure.
Integrity vs. Despair
Age
Late Adult
(late 60s and up)
Important
Description
Event
Life
Acceptance of
Reflection one's lifetime
accomplishments
and sense of
fulfillment.
Gender Development
• Biology (neuroscience)
perspective: Corpus
Callosum larger in
woman.
• Psychodynamic
perspective:
Competition for
opposite sex parent.
• Social-Cognitive
Perspective : Gender
Schema Theory
• Behavioral Perspective:
Social Learning Theory