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The Psychology of Adolescence
• Turmoil and adjustment
• Separation and connection
• Ethnic identity and acculturation
Adolescence
• The physiology of adolescence
• The psychology of adolescence
The Physiology of Adolescence
• Adolescence
– The period of life from puberty to
adulthood (ages 12-20).
• Puberty
– The age at which a person becomes
capable of sexual reproduction.
• Menarche
– A girl’s first menstrual period.
Timing of Puberty
• Puberty is the average age at which
reproductive systems mature
• Girls enter puberty about two years before boys
• Preceded by growth spurts
• Hormones trigger development of secondary
sexual characteristics, physical features that
differentiate the sexes
• Onset of puberty depends on genetic and
environmental factors.
• For example, body fat triggers the hormonal
changes.
Cognitive Development
• Most adolescents are in Piaget’s “formal
operational stage” and can think abstractly
and form hypotheses
• Imaginary audience is a cognitive distortion in
which adolescents see themselves “on stage”
• Personal fable is a cognitive distortion in
which adolescents believe they are so special
that others cannot understand them
Emotional and Social
Development
• Early patterns of adjustment manifest
themselves as years passed
• Parents and peers are important influences on
self-esteem and personality
• Adolescents’ attitudes fall somewhere between
those of their parents and peers
Gender Development
• Defining gender identity and gender
typing.
• Influences on gender development.
Sex vs gender
• Biological determinant is sex (physiology)
• Gender is a social construction which may
differ across groups/ time
Gender Identity and Gender
Typing
• Gender Identity
– The fundamental sense of being male or
female; it is independent of whether the
person conforms to social and cultural
rules of gender.
• Gender Typing
– Process by which children learn the
abilities, interests, personality traits, and
behaviours associated with being
masculine or feminine in their culture.
The Search for Gender Identity
• During adolescence, gender intensification
may take place
• This is becoming extreme in one’s
orientation toward maleness and
femaleness
•
Influences on Gender
Development
Biological factors
– Biological researchers believe that early play and toy
preferences have a basis in prenatal hormones, genes,
or brain organization.
• Cognitive factors
– Cognitive psychologists suggest that toy preferences
are based on gender schemas or the mental network of
knowledge, beliefs, metaphors and expectations about
what it means to be male or female.
• Learning factors
– Gender appropriate play may be reinforced by parents,
teachers, and peers.
Gender Schema Theory
• Gender schema theory asserts children and
adolescents use their sex as an organizing
theme to classify and interpret perceptions
• Children develop shorthand concepts of what
boys and girls are like
• Adolescent self-esteem is tied to these genderbased perceptions
Turmoil and Adjustment
• Extreme turmoil and problems with
adjustment are the exception rather
than the rule.
• Three kinds of problems are more
likely
– Conflict with parents.
– Mood swings and depression.
– Higher rates of rule breaking and risky
behavior.
Separation and Connection
• Adolescents are trying to separate from parents
but remain connected.
• Individuation
– The process of developing own opinions, values, and
styles of dress and look.
• Quarrels with parents represent a shift from onesided parental authority to a more reciprocal
adult relationship.
Friendship
• Children and adolescents who have
friends tend to be more socially competent
• Friendship sets the stage for adult
intimacy
• When friendships fall apart, a child’s selfconfidence is undermined
Friendship
• In adulthood, friendships between women
differ from those between men
• In adulthood, women talk about family,
personal matters, and doubts and fears more
than men
• Men talk about sports and work more
• Women find friendships more satisfying
Sexual Behaviour in
Adolescence
• Adolescents view sexual intimacy as an
important and normal part of growing up
• Adolescents are having sexual
experiences at younger ages
Ethnic Identity and Acculturation
• An important task of adolescence is identity
development.
– Especially important in ethnically diverse societies is
finding a balance between ethnic identity, a close
identification with one’s religious or ethnic group, and
– acculturation, an identification with the dominant
culture.
• Bicultural, assimilation, separatist, marginal
Adulthood
• Stages and ages
• The transitions of life
• Old age
Adulthood Physical Changes
• From 30 to 40 there is some loss of agility
and speed
• Between 40 and 60, there is even greater
loss
• In general, overall fitness deteriorates
gradually from age 30 on
Why gerontology is so
important…
• Because of longer life expectancies and
life spans, the average age of the
population in developed countries is higher
than underdeveloped countries, and will
continue to rise.
The Transitions of Life
• Emerging Adulthood (18-25)
– Phase of life distinctly different from
adolescence and adulthood.
– In some ways an adult, in some ways not.
• The Middle Years (35-65)
– Perceived by many experiencing it as the
prime of life.
– Menopause:
• The cessation of menstruation and the
production of ova; it is usually a gradual
process lasting up to several years.
Erikson’s Eight Stages - I
• Trust vs. Mistrust
– Infancy (0-1 year)
• Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt
– Toddler (1-2 years)
• Initiative vs. Guilt
– Preschool (3-5 years)
• Industry vs. Inferiority
– Elementary School (6-12 years)
Erikson’s Eight Stages - II
• Identity vs. Role confusion
– Adolescence (13-19 years)
• Intimacy vs. Isolation
– Young adulthood (20-40 years)
• Generativity vs. Stagnation
– Middle adulthood (40-65 years)
• Integrity vs. Despair
– Late adulthood (65 and older)
Levinson’s Life Structures
• Levinson divides life into four stages he calls
“eras:” adolescence; early adulthood; middle
adulthood; and late adulthood
• During adolescence (age 4 – 17) people
enter the adult world, but are still immature
and vulnerable
Levinson’s Life Structures
• During early adulthood (18 – 45) the
first major life choices are made
• At the end of early adulthood, a
midlife crisis occurs caused by the
realization that one’s life is half over
Levinson’s Life Structures
• The third era is middle adulthood (ages
46 to 65)
• By this point in life, career and family are
well established
• People feel satisfaction and self-worth, or
sense much of life has been wasted
Levinson’s Life Structures
• The final era is late adulthood (age 65 on)
• Many people relax, enjoying the fruits of
their labor
• Children and grandchildren become the
focus of attention
Cognitive Changes
• Up to age 65, there is little decline in
learning or memory
• Some age-related cognitive decrements
do occur, especially after 65
Late Adulthood: Growing
Older
• About 13% of the Canadian population is
65 years of age or older
• The proportion of elderly is expected to
increase 18% by year 2021
Ageism
• Ageism is prejudice against the elderly,
and the discrimination it leads to
• People seen through positive stereotypes
are less likely to suffer discrimination
Health in Late Adulthood
• Many elderly lead healthy lives
• However, aging adults face many possible
health changes
• Dementias are progressive impairment of
mental functioning
Health in Late Adulthood
• Reversible dementias can be caused by
malnutrition, alcoholism, and toxins, and
usually affect younger people
• Multiple infarct dementia, usually caused
by one or two small strokes, and
Alzheimer’s disease are forms of
irreversible dementia
Health in Late Adulthood
• Alzheimer’s disease involves memory
loss, language deterioration, poor
visual/spatial skills, and an indifferent
attitude
Theories about aging
• Disengagement Theory
– Older persons make a normal and healthy
adjustment to aging when they detach
themselves from their social roles and
prepare for their eventual death.
– Disengagement is functional to society.
Theories…/2
• Activity theory
– People tend to shift gears in late middle age and find
substitutes for previous roles and activities.
– Older people have same social & psychological needs
& do not want to withdraw
– Activity is directly related to longevity, happiness &
health.
• Conflict Perspective
– Aging is problematic
– As people age, power diminishes unless wealth is
maintained.
– If disadvantaged in younger years, more so in older
years
Theories of Aging: Heredity
• One heredity theory of aging is based on the
study of apoptosis, the process by which cells kill
themselves
• Telomeres are end segments of DNA
• Cells grow older each time they divide because
the telomeres shorten
• Cessation of telomere division may be a
possible explanation of aging
Theories of Aging: External Factors
• Lifestyle factors affect how long a person
will live
• It is reasonable to assume external factors
such as disease, smoking, and obesity
may affect a person’s lifespan
Theories of Aging: Physiology
• Physiological theories rely on both
hereditary and environmental factors
• Wear-and-Tear theory assumes the body
simply wears-out from overuse
• Homeostatic theory assumes the body’s
ability to adjust to stress decreases with
age
Alzheimer’s and other
Dementias
• Prevalence/ Incidence in Canada and the
world.
• Same risk factors as cardio-vascular
disease.
• The importance of anti-oxidants. (i.e. red
wine, real vitamin E, ginko biloba, etc.)
CSHA
• The Canadian Study of Health and
Aging is a study of the epidemiology of
dementia in Canada. It has followed
over 10,000 elderly Canadians over a
ten-year period from 1991 to 2001 and
has collected a wide range of
information on their changing health
status over that time.
AD Symptoms
• Global dysfunction at the behavioral level:
– memory impairment,
– thinking and judgment impairment,
– poverty of associations,
– paranoid delusions (in half of the patients),
– sometimes slow, sometimes rapid
deterioration, always fatal.
• Etiology unknown; some forms due to
genetic risk.
Alzheimer’s disease risk factors
• APOE-4 status
• Cardiovascular risk factors
• AGE (theory states that, if people lived
long enough, everyone would eventually
develop AD)
Death and Dying
• People’s overall health deteriorates with age
• Some individuals experience the terminal drop,
rapid drop in intellectual functioning the year
before death
• Thanatology is the study of the psychological
and medical aspects of death and dying
• “Life is not a journey to the grave with
the intention of arriving safely in a pretty
and well-preserved body, but rather to
skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and loudly proclaiming,
'Wow, what a ride!‘”