Adolescence

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Adolescence

• The transition period from childhood to adulthood.

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Is adolescence getting longer or shorter?
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Physical Development

• It all begins with puberty

Puberty the period of sexual maturation, during
which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
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Primary Sexual Characteristics

• The body structures that make sexual reproduction
  possible
• Female ovaries (what hormones?) estrogen,
  progesterone
• Male Testicles (what hormone?) - testosterone

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Secondary Sexual Characteristics

• Nonreproductive sexual characteristics

Female breasts, curved body shapewidening hips
Deepening of male voice, body hair
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When does puberty start?The Landmarks

• First ejaculation for boys

• Menarche (meh NAR key) for girls

Do we remember these things?
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Puberty

• Sequence is way more predictable than the timing.

How might timing differences effect an adolescent
socially?
Boys? Girls? Early bloomers? Late bloomers?
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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 teens occasional
  impulsiveness, risky behaviors, emotional storms
• Frontal lobes matures by age 25improved
  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?

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Cognitive Development

• Have the ability to reason but.

• The reasoning is self-focused. Assume that their
  experiences are unique.

• Experience formal operational thought

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Lawrence Kohlberg and his stages of Morality

• Preconventional Morality
• Conventional Morality
• Postconventional Morality

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Preconventional Morality

• Morality of self- interest
• Their actions are either to avoid punishment or
  to gain rewards.

Before age 9
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Conventional Morality

• Morality is based upon obeying laws to
• Maintain social order
• To gain social approval

Early adolescence
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Postconventional Morality

• Morality based on your own ethical principles.

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Kohlbergs Moral Ladder
Morality of abstract principles to
affirm agreed-upon rights and personal ethical
principles

• As moral development progresses, the focus of
  concern moves from the self to the wider social
  world.

Postconventional level
Morality of law and social rules to
gain approval or avoid disapproval
Conventional level
Preconventional level
Morality of self-interest to avoid punishment or
gain concrete rewards
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Lawrence Kohlbergs 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 peoples point of view
• Understanding vs. action
• Culture boundbiased against communal societies
  such as China and India

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Talk is CheapHow do we turn morality into action?

• Teach Empathy
• Self-discipline to delay gratification
• Model moral behavior

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Social Development

• Its all about forming an identity!!!

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Identity

• Ones sense of self.
• The idea that an adolescents job is to find
  oneself by testing various roles.
• Comes from Erik Eriksons stages of Psychosocial
  development.

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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.

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Intimacy

• Towards the end of adolescence, intimacy becomes
  the prime goal.
• Can you list the intimacy differences between men
  and women?

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Trust vs. Mistrust
Age Important Event Description
Birth - 18 months Feeding Infants form a loving, trusting relationship with parents they also learn to mistrust others.
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Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Age Important Event Description
18 months - 3 Years Toilet Training 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.
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Initiative vs. Guilt
Age Important Event Description
3 - 5 Years Independence Child becomes more assertive, takes more initiative, becomes more forceful.
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Competence vs. Inferiority
Age Important Event Description
6 - 12 Years School The child must deal with demands to learn new skills while risking a sense of inferiority and failure
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Identity vs. Role Confusion
Age Important Event Description
Adolescence (teens to early 20s) Peers Teens must achieve self-identity while deciphering their roles in occupation, politics, and religion.
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Intimacy vs. Isolation
Age Important Event Description
Young Adult (20s early 40s) Relationships The young adult must develop marriage-seeking relationships while combating feelings of isolation.
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Generativity vs. Stagnation
Age Important Event Description
Middle Adult (40s-60s) Parenting Assuming the role of parents signifies the need to continue the generations while avoiding the inevitable feeling of failure.
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Integrity vs. Despair
Age Important Event Description
Late Adult (late 60s and up) Life Reflection Acceptance of one's lifetime accomplishments and sense of fulfillment.
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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