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Summary 1.5 Changing Man - 1: The birds and the bees
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This is my personal summary of problem 1 of block 5: developmental psychology
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Problem 8 – When puberty hitsPuberty: The physical transition to adulthood
- Primary sexual characteristics: Involve the reproductive organs directly
(ovaries, uterus, and vagina in females; penis, scrotum, and testes in males).
- Secondary sexual characteristics: Are visible on the outside of the body and serve as
additional signs of sexual maturity (e.g. breast development, pubic hair).
Individual and group differences in pubertal growth:
- Heredity contributes substantially to the timing of pubertal changes.
- Nutrition and exercise also make a difference (puberty occurs earlier in obese girls
and later in girl who train rigorously).
- Variations in pubertal growth also exist between regions of the world and between
income and ethnic groups. Physical health plays a major role in this.
- Early family experiences may also affect pubertal timing. Girls and boys with a history
of family conflict, harsh parenting, or parental separation tend to reach puberty
early. In contrast, those with warm, stable family ties reach puberty relatively late.
Endocrine system
Hormones, which are secretions of the various endocrine glands in the body, govern
pubertal growth and physical changes in several ways.
During puberty, the pituitary glands begins secreting increased levels of gonadotrophic
hormones, which in turn stimulate the development of glands in the testes and ovaries that
then secrete more of the so-called sex hormones – androgens and estrogens.
The increased levels of sex and growth hormones triggers two sets of body changes:
development of the sex organs, and a much broader set of changes in the brain, bones,
muscles and other body organs.
Sequence of changes in girls and boys
- Sexual maturation in girls: Changes include breast growth, , growth spurt, pubic hair,
the menstruation cycle (menarche), and underarm hair.
- Sexual maturation in boys: Changes include enlarged penis, pubic hair, growth spurt,
deepening of the voice, testes enlarge, first ejaculation.
In the past decade, the timing of menarche has lowered rather dramatically. This change is
most likely caused by changes in lifestyle and diet. A higher amount of body fat could cause
leptin levels to rise resulting in earlier menarche.
, The psychological impact of pubertal events
Is puberty inevitably a period of storm and stress? Research suggests that the notion of
adolescence as a biologically determined period of storm and stress is greatly exaggerated.
Reactions to pubertal changes: Wide individual differences exist in girls’ reactions to
menstruation and boys’ reactions to their first ejaculation that depend on prior knowledge
and support from family members, teachers or health professionals.
Pubertal change, emotion, and social behavior:
o Adolescent moodiness: Higher pubertal hormone levels are linked to greater
moodiness, but only modestly so. Other factors that could contribute are negative
life events, situational changes, and changes in sleep schedules.
o Parent-child relationships: Puberty is related to a rise in parent-child conflict. This
may have an adaptive value by providing psychological separation from parents.
Pubertal timing: The timing of puberty has a major impact on psychological adjustment. Two
factors account for this: (1) how closely the adolescent’s body matches cultural ideals of
physical attractiveness and (2) how well young people fit in physically with their agemates.
1. The role of physical attractiveness:
o Society views an attractive female as thin and long-legged. The female image
is a girlish shape that favors the late developer.
o Society views a good-looking male as tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular.
The male image fits the early-maturing boy.
2. The importance of fitting in with peers: Early-maturing girls and late-maturing boys
have difficulty because they fall at the extremes in physical development.
o Long-term consequences: Follow-ups reveal that early-maturing girls,
especially, are prone to lasting difficulties.
Puberty and adolescent health
Sexuality: Adolescent sexuality is heavily influenced by the young person’s social context.
o The impact of culture: Exposure to sex, education about it, and efforts to limit the
sexual curiosity of children and adolescents vary widely around the world.
o Adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior: The sexual attitudes of adolescents and
adults have become more liberal over the past 40 years. Trends in adolescents’
sexual behavior are consistent with their attitudes. For example, compared with
a generation ago, more people approve of sexual intercourse before marriage.
o Characteristics of sexually active adolescents: Early and frequent sexual activity is
linked to childhood impulsivity, early pubertal timing, parental divorce, single-parent
and stepfamily homes, large family size, little or no religious involvement, weak
parental monitoring, disrupted parent-child communication, sexually active friends
and older siblings, poor school performance, lower educational aspirations, and the
tendency to engage in alcohol and drug use as well as delinquency.
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