Summary adolescence development exam 1
Lecture 1 readings:
Introduction:
Studies of adolescent brain development have revealed that the brain continues to mature well into
the mid-20s. In all societies, adolescence is a time of growing up, of moving from the immaturity of
childhood into the maturity of adulthood, of preparation for the future. Adolescence is a period of
transitions: biological, psychological, social, economic.
Adolescence = The stage of development that begins with puberty and ends when individuals make
the transition into adult roles, roughly speaking, from about 10 until the early 20s.
Different phases of adolescence.
1 Early adolescence = The period spanning roughly ages 10–13, corresponding roughly to the junior
high or middle school years.
2 Middle adolescence = The period spanning roughly ages 14–17, corresponding to the high school
years.
3 Late adolescence = The period spanning roughly ages 18–21, corresponding approximately to the
college years.
Some suggest the phase: emerging adulthood = The period spanning roughly ages 18–25, during
which individuals make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. But there is less evidence that
this is a stage. There are different pathways from adolescence into adulthood.
Framework for studying adolescent development by John Hill. The model has three basic
components: (1) the fundamental changes of adolescence, (2) the contexts of adolescence, and (3)
the psychosocial developments of adolescence.
1 The fundamental changes of adolescence:
According to Hill, three features of adolescent development give the period its special flavor and
significance: (1) the onset of puberty: the biological changes of adolescence. (biological transitions:
changes in physical appearance), (2) the emergence of more advanced thinking abilities (cognitive
transitions: think about hypothetical situations, abstract concepts), and (3) the transition into new
roles in society (social transitions: changes in rights, privileges and responsibilities.).
2 The contexts of adolescence
The psychological impact of the biological, cognitive, and social changes of adolescence is shaped by
the environment in which the changes take place. According to the ecological perspective on human
development: We cannot understand the development without examining the settings, or context, in
which it occurs.
,Four main contexts: 1. Families 2. Peer groups 3. Schools 4. Work and leisure, and the mass media
>> These contexts are located in different neighborhoods which influence the contexts. The contexts
of adolescence are themselves shaped and defined by the larger society in which young people live.
3 Psychosocial development in adolescence
Psychosocial = Referring to aspects of development that are both psychological and social in nature,
such as developing a sense of identity or sexuality. The psychosocial development in adolescence
represent developmental challenges that we face:
(1) discovering and understanding who we are as individuals: identity (self-conceptions, self-esteem,
and the sense of who one is)
(2) establishing a healthy sense of independence: autonomy
(3) forming, maintenance, and termination of close and caring relationships with others: intimacy
(4) expressing sexual feelings and enjoying physical contact with others: sexuality
(5) being successful and competent members of society: achievement. (behaviors and feelings in
evaluative situations)
Adolescence is the most common time in life to experience psychological difficulties: 1 Drug and
alcohol abuse, 2 Delinquency and other externalizing problems, 3 Depression and other internalizing
problems.
Theoretical perspectives on adolescence:
How much is due to “nature,” or biology, and how much is due to “nurture,” or the environment?
1 Biosocial theories = Theories of adolescence that emphasize the biological changes of the period.
Hormonal and physical changes of puberty as driving forces.
Hall’s theory of recapitulation:
Development of the individual parallels the development of the human species. Development stages
determined by instinct: biological and genetic forces within a person. Adolescence is inevitably a
period of “storm and stress”: hormonal changes cause difficulties. Current work explores the genetic
bases of individual differences.
Dual systems theories:
Focuses on the changes in the anatomy and activity of the brain. The dual system theories stress that
there are two different brain systems. One that governs the way the brain processes rewards,
punishments, and social and emotional information > early adolescence. One that regulates self-
control and advanced thinking abilities (planning, logical reasoning) > still maturing. This creates
maturational imbalance. Creating a better self-regulation is the main challenge so that the imbalance
isn’t problematical.
2 Organismic theories = Theories of adolescence that emphasize the interaction between the
,biological changes of the period and the contexts in which they take place.
Freudian theory:
Psychosexual conflicts that arise at different points in development. Adolescence as a time of
upheaval/disruption, psychological crisis about conflicts of uncomfortable sexual urges from the
unconscious. Anna Freud said that adolescents need to break away and detach from their parents to
develop normally.
Eriksonian theory:
Focusses on the psychosocial rather than the psychosexual conflicts. Biological developments moved
the individual through stages. Eight stages in psychosocial development, characterized by a specific
crisis because of the interplay between the internal forces and the demands of society. Challenge of
adolescence is to resolve the identity crisis and to emerge with a coherent sense of who one is and
where one is headed.
Piagetian theory:
Development understood by examining changes in the nature of thinking. As children mature they
pass through distinct stages of cognitive development. Adolescence marks the transition from
concrete to abstract thought. Being capable of thinking in hypothetical terms influenced by internal
biological changes and changes in the intellectual environment.
3 Learning theories = Theories of adolescence that emphasize the ways in which patterns of behavior
are acquired through reinforcement and punishment or through observation and imitation.
Behaviorism:
The processes of reinforcement and punishment as influence on adolescent behavior. Skinners theory
of operant conditioning, reinforcement is the process through which a behavior is made more likely
to occur again, whereas punishment is the process through which a behavior is made less likely to
occur again.
Social learning theory:
Albert Bandura: Learning how to behave with reinforcement and punishment, but also with an
emphasis on the processes of observational learning and imitation.
4 Sociological theories = Focus on the factors that all adolescents or groups of adolescents have in
common by virtue of their age.
Adolescent marginality:
Kurt Lewin and Edgar Friedenberg: Young people may feel marginalized, because of the power
difference between them and adults.
Intergenerational conflict:
Karl Mannheim and James Coleman: Adolescents and adults grow up under different social
circumstances >> different set of attitudes, values, and beliefs. Therefore, there is an inevitable
tension between the adolescent and adult generations.
5 Historical and anthropological perspectives = Glen Elder, Joseph Kett, and Thomas Hine:
Adolescence as a developmental period has varied considerably from one historical era to another >>
, it is impossible to generalize issues of adolescence. The issues all depend on the social, political, and
economic forces present.
Adolescence as an intervention:
The way in which we divide the life cycle into stages reflects political, economic, and social
circumstances. Social conditions define the nature of adolescent development: puberty is a stage, but
this is a stage because society has made it so. Not because people have really changed in any
fundamental way.
Anthropological perspectives:
Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead: Societies vary in the ways in which they view and structure
adolescence. Adolescence is a culturally defined experience. Benedict >> non-industrialized societies
and modern industrialized societies differ.
The question is, if adolescence is inherently stressful. The persistent portrayal of teenagers as
passionate or troubled in popular media is noted, influencing societal perceptions. Stereotypes
impact how teenagers are treated by teachers, salespersons, and parents, as demonstrated by studies
on parental beliefs affecting teen behavior. The growth in scientific literature on adolescence has led
to more accurate views, but stereotypes persist in parenting guides. The passage encourages readers
to question preconceptions, acknowledging that adolescence has both positive and negative aspects
shaped by individual experiences and societal forces. The goal is to provide a realistic understanding
of adolescent development based on up-to-date scientific research.
Chapter 1 biological transitions 13-33
Not all adolescents experience identity crisis, but virtually all go through puberty. Even the most
universal aspects of adolescence: puberty, is hardly universal in its impact on the young person. The
environment in which adolescents develop is influential. Puberty refers to the period during which an
individual becomes capable of sexual reproduction.
Puberty has 4 physical manifestations: 1. Rapid acceleration in growth 2. Development of sex
characteristics >> hormonal changes 3. Development of secondary sex characteristics >> changes in
body 4. Changes in the brain’s anatomy and activity due to hormonal influences >> These changes are
the result of developments in the endocrine and central nervous systems.
The endocrine system: The system of the body that produces, circulates, and regulates levels of
hormones. Hormones = highly specialized substances that are secreted by endocrine glands. Glands =
organs that stimulate parts of the body to respond in specific ways. Gonadotropin-releasing
hormone neurons (GnRH) = specialized neurons that are activated by certain pubertal hormones.
The hormonal feedback loop:
The endocrine receives instructions to increase or decrease circulating levels of hormones from the
central nervous system mainly through GnRH. The system works like a thermostat. Hormonal levels
are set at a certain point, which may differ depending on the stage of development. When a
particular hormonal level in your body dips below the endocrine system’s set point for that hormone,
secretion of the hormone increase: when the level reaches the set point, secretion temporarily stops.
Set point = A physiological level or setting (e.g., of a specific hormone) that the body attempts to
maintain through a self-regulating system.
