Plato: Ability to reason appears in adolescence Aristotle: Ability to choose is the hallmark of maturity Middle Ages: Adolescents viewed as miniature adults Rousseau: Restored the belief that being a child or an adolescent is not the same as being an adult.
The end of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century saw the invention of the concept we now call adolescence. Educators, counselors, and psychologists began to develop norms of behavior for adolescents. G. Stanley Hall: Father of scientific study of adolescents Storm and stress view. Margaret Mead: Nature of adolescence is not biological, but sociocultural. Inventionist View: Adolescence is a sociohistorical creation. Further Changes: 1920s to 1950s, adolescents gain more prominence 1960s to 1970s, radicalism replaced by upward mobility and material interests The late twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century involves the dramatic increase in the use of media and technology by adolescents.
Stereotyping of adolescents is so widespread that adolescence researcher Joseph Adelson (1979) call it the adolescent generalization gap. During most of the twentieth century, adolescents have been portrayed as abnormal and deviant rather than normal and non-deviant. Daniel Offer and his colleagues (1988) found that at least 73% of adolescents studied have a healthy self-image, were happy most of the time, valued work and school, and showed positive feelings toward their families.
Media portrayals of adolescents as rebellious, conflicted, faddish, delinquent, and self-centered—Rebel Without a Cause in the late 1950s and Easy Rider in the 1960s. Consider the image of the stressed and disturbed adolescent—Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club in the 1980s, Boyz N the Hood in the 1990s.
Stereotyping of adolescents is so widespread that adolescence researcher Joseph Adelson (1979) call it the adolescent generalization gap. During most of the twentieth century, adolescents have been portrayed as abnormal and deviant rather than normal and non-deviant. Daniel Offer and his colleagues (1988) found that at least 73% of adolescents studied have a healthy self-image, were happy most of the time, valued work and school, and showed positive feelings toward their families.
In a cross-cultural study, Daniel Offer and his colleagues (1988) found no support for such a negative view. The researchers assessed the self-images of adolescents around the world—in the United States, Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, and West Germany—and discovered that at least 73 percent of the adolescents had a positive self-image.
Best: longer life expectancies and luxuries inconceivable less than a century ago. Worst: High divorce rates; High adolescent pregnancy rates; and increased geographic mobility of families contribute to this lack of stability. U.S. rate of adolescent drug use is world’s highest. Contexts: Today there is more emphasis on how contexts influence adolescents’ behavior
Introduce the concept of generational inequity. Should the young have to pay for the old? Is the older population using up resources that should go to disadvantaged children and adolescents?
Cultural differences among adolescents have by no means disappeared (Berry, 2010; Larson & Wilson, 2004; Saraswathi, 2006).
Cultural differences among adolescents have by no means disappeared (Berry, 2010; Larson & Wilson, 2004; Saraswathi, 2006).
Class discussion: Imagine what your development would be like if you grew up in another culture
The transition from childhood to adolescence involves a number of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes. In sum, the transition from childhood to adolescence is complex and multidimensional, involving change in many different aspects of an individual’s life
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is determined by cultural standards and experiences.
Jeffrey Arnett (2006) recently concluded that five key features characterize emerging adulthood.
The lack of structure and support that often characterizes emerging adulthood can produce a downturn in health and well-being for some individuals (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006).
The lack of structure and support that often characterizes emerging adulthood can produce a downturn in health and well-being for some individuals (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006). Reaching adulthood involves more than just attaining a specific chronological age (Cohen & others, 2003).
Development is not all nature or all nurture, not all continuity or discontinuity, and not all early experience or all later experience.
The lack of structure and support that often characterizes emerging adulthood can produce a downturn in health and well-being for some individuals (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006). Reaching adulthood involves more than just attaining a specific chronological age (Cohen & others, 2003).
Development is not all nature or all nurture, not all continuity or discontinuity, and not all early experience or all later experience.
It is unwise to take an extreme position on these developmental issues. Nature and nurture, continuity and discontinuity, and early and later experience all affect our development throughout the human life span.
Some individuals have difficulty thinking of adolescent development as being a science in the same way that physics, chemistry, and biology are sciences.
Introduce the concept of generational inequity. Should the young have to pay for the old? Is the older population using up resources that should go to disadvantaged children and adolescents?
Id: instincts Ego: deals with the demands of reality Superego: morality
Defense Mechanisms: Freud felt that repression is the most powerful, pushing impulses of the id out of awareness
Unconscious thought remains a central theme, but conscious thought makes up more of the iceberg than Freud believed.
Unconscious thought remains a central theme, but conscious thought makes up more of the iceberg than Freud believed.
Erik Erikson (1902-1994) Eight psychosocial stages, not psychosexual as Freud believed. Development changes occur through lifespan, whereas Freud believed our basic personality is formed before the age of 5. Each stage is filled with a unique developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis that must be faced. The more an individual resolves this crisis (task), the healthier that individual’s development will be.
1. Birth to 2: understanding of the world is achieved through coordinating sensory experiences 2. 2 to 7: children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. 3. 7 to 11: children can perform operations and logical reasoning replaces intuitive thought 4. 11 to 15: individuals think in abstract and more logical terms.
1. A particular mental act cannot be viewed accurately in isolation but should be evaluated as a step in a gradual development process 2. Language is most important. It helps the child plan activities and solve problems. 3. Adolescent development is inseparable from social and cultural activities.
Concerned with: How does information enter the mind? How is it stored and transformed? How is it retrieved?
Behavioral and social cognitive theories emphasize the importance of studying environmental experiences and observable behavior. Social cognitive theories emphasize person/cognitive factors in development.
Behavioral and social cognitive theories emphasize the importance of studying environmental experiences and observable behavior. Social cognitive theories emphasize person/cognitive factors in development.
Adds person/cognitive element to Skinner’s theory Model says that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors interact in a reciprocal manner Observation learning is a key aspect of how we learn
Ecological, contextual theory: Urie Bronfenbrenner’s view of development, involving 5 environmental systems, ranging from the fine-engrained inputs of direct interactions to broad-based inputs of culture
Ecological, contextual theory: Urie Bronfenbrenner’s view of development, involving 5 environmental systems, ranging from the fine-engrained inputs of direct interactions to broad-based inputs of culture
Ecological, contextual theory: Urie Bronfenbrenner’s view of development, involving 5 environmental systems, ranging from the fine-engrained inputs of direct interactions to broad-based inputs of culture
Research is not only guided by grand theories such as Piaget’s, but also by local or micro theories that focus on a specific aspect or time frame of development.
Observation – Must be systematic. Make observation in the lab or everyday world. Surveys and interviews – Quickest way to get information. Can be unstructured and open-ended or more structured. People may answer in socially acceptable ways. Standardized Tests – Uniform procedures for administration and scoring. Experience Sampling – Participants given electronic pagers, researcher “beep” them at random times. When “beeped” participants report relevant information. Physiological Measures – can assess hormones, body composition, or brain activity. Case Studies – In-depth look at a single individual.
Observation – Must be systematic. Make observation in the lab or everyday world. Surveys and interviews – Quickest way to get information. Can be unstructured and open-ended or more structured. People may answer in socially acceptable ways. Standardized Tests – Uniform procedures for administration and scoring. Experience Sampling – Participants given electronic pagers, researcher “beep” them at random times. When “beeped” participants report relevant information. Physiological Measures – can assess hormones, body composition, or brain activity. Case Studies – In-depth look at a single individual.
Observation – Must be systematic. Make observation in the lab or everyday world. Surveys and interviews – Quickest way to get information. Can be unstructured and open-ended or more structured. People may answer in socially acceptable ways. Standardized Tests – Uniform procedures for administration and scoring. Experience Sampling – Participants given electronic pagers, researcher “beep” them at random times. When “beeped” participants report relevant information. Physiological Measures – can assess hormones, body composition, or brain activity. Case Studies – In-depth look at a single individual.
Ethics: The best interests of the participants always have to be kept in mind Gender: Every effort should be made to make research equitable for females and males Ethnicity: Include more children from ethnic minority backgrounds in child development research Ethnic gloss: Using an ethnic label in a superficial way that portrays an ethnic group as being more homogenous than it really is
Consumer: Be cautious about what is reported in the media Avoid assuming individual needs on the basis of group research Recognize it’s easy to overgeneralize from a small sample A single study is not the defining word Consider the source…evaluate it’s credibility
Knowledge in the field of adolescence rests heavily on the development of a broad, competent research base.
