Transcript Psychology of Adolescence DEP 4304

Psychology of Adolescence
DEP 4304
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
School of Psychological and
Behavioral Sciences
The University of West Florida
Complete the following items:
• List 3 terms or phrases that come to mind when
you think of adolescence.
• List the major problem, from your perspective,
adolescents face in today’s US culture.
• List the major problem, from your perspective,
adolescents face from a global perspective.
Adolescence: Historical
Perspective
• Relatively recent category
• Based on labor market
– Labor intensive to knowledge intensive
– Rural, agricultural to technological
• Lifespan perspective
– Changes in healthcare
– Changes in environmental conditions
– Changes in pregnancy and childbirth
practices
Adolescence: Historical
Perspective
• Emerging Adulthood (Arnett, 2000)
– Recently established category
– Physical relocation frequent
– Reflects extended adolescence
– Extended dependency on family of origin
– Extended time to economic independence
– Extended educational experiences (graduate
school or second undergraduate degree
common)
BioPsychoSocial Model
• Human development can best be
understood as the interaction of:
– biological forces (genetics, physical
maturation),
– individual psychological factors (intellectual,
social, emotional), and
– social forces (family, peers, social institutions,
cultural factors).
Perspectives on Adolescence
• Constructivist: we form unique
interpretations of our experiences based
on:
– history,
– culture, and
– cognitive strategies;
Perspectives on Adolescence
• Contextualist: our culture and context provide
the lens through which we see our and others’
worlds—consciously or unconsciously;
– Bronfenbrenner defines multiple levels of
contexts—microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, macrosystem
– Contexts range from individual interactions to
larger cultural institutions that govern
individuals
Perspectives on Adolescence
• Lifespan: adolescence reflects a process
of maturation that is similar to yet different
from periods prior to and subsequent to it.
– Early adolescence—pubescent through 14-15
years old;
– Late adolescence—typically 16-19 years old
– Emerging adulthood—typically post
secondary school through establishing
individual values, emotional
independence,etc.
Diversity and the Adolescent
Population
• Although the demographics of the US population
are changing, adolescence remains a significant
and growing group (11-19years);
• Diversity among adolescents reflects diversity
among the broader population.
Concepts of Diversity
• Gender—social roles, not biological sex,
individuals adopt or those roles to which
individuals are limited by the dominant
culture;
– Feminine
– Masculine
– Androgynous
Concepts of Diversity
• Ethnic group—
– Typically defined by racial, cultural, linguistic,
economic, religious, ideological, and/or
political status.
– Members of the same ethnic group may or
may not share common values and
characteristics of all those defining the group.
Concepts of Diversity
• Sexual Orientation
– Heterosexual (straight)—attracted to
members of the opposite sex
– Homosexual (gay, lesbian)—attracted to
members of the same sex
– Bisexual—attracted to members of either sex.
Scientific Study of
Adolescence & Emerging Adulthood
• How we know about adolescents/adolescence and
emerging adults/adulthood
– Media
– Experience
– Science/scientific study
• Why science? Because it strives to be
– Systematic
– Unbiased
– Self-correcting
Scientific Study of
Adolescence & Emerging Adulthood
• Types of Relationships
– Correlational – what happens, descriptive, predictive
– Causal – why something happens, what causes it
• Types of Data
– Qualitative (personal narratives, written records of
observations)
– Quantitative
• Nominal—Frequencies
• Ordinal—Rank Orders
• Interval—Measurements that have equal intervals between
units of measurement
• Ratio—Measurements that have a true zero point and equal
intervals
Scientific Study of
Adolescence & Emerging Adulthood
• Types of Designs
– Rigor of control
• Correlational – can show us whether A and B are
related, but cannot show us which one caused
which
• Experimental – controlled such that we can begin
to say whether A caused B because experiments
include the following:
– Random assignment
– Systematic control of variables
• Quasi-Experimental
Scientific Study of
Adolescence & Emerging Adulthood
• Types of Designs (cont.)
– Temporal Aspects
• Cross Sectional – uses different groups of participants from
different age ranges for comparison at one time (e.g.,
comparing 6th graders’ and 10th graders’ relationships with
their parents)
• Longitudinal – uses the same group of participants, taking
measures over time at different ages (e.g., measuring one
group of adolescents’ attitudes toward alcohol use when they
are in 6th, 8th, 10th, and then 12th grade)
• Cohort Sequential – uses different groups, taking measures
over time at different ages (e.g., measuring attitudes about
gender roles in 6th and 10th graders in 2008 and then in 2010,
when they are in 8th and 12th grade)
Scientific Study of
Adolescence & Emerging Adulthood
• Interpretations of research
– Reliability – the extent to which a measure yields
similar results when used multiple times
– Validity – the extent to which something measures
what it claims to measure