Week 8 Adolescent Development PDF

lOMoARcPSD|26301137 What can friendships do? - Provide social scaTolding for normaDve transiDons - Can compensate for lack of general peer popularity What are the funcGons of friendship? - Fosters social competence - Gives ego support - Provides emoDonal security - Is a source of: o InDmacy and aTe...

lOMoARcPSD|26301137 What can friendships do? - Provide social scaTolding for normaDve transiDons - Can compensate for lack of general peer popularity What are the funcGons of friendship? - Fosters social competence - Gives ego support - Provides emoDonal security - Is a source of: o InDmacy and aTecDon o Guidance and assistance o Companionship and sDmulaDon - Is a basis for reliable alliance WEEK 8: PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE What is adolescence? - Period from age 12 – 20 - Modern Western cultures o Period of gradual transiDon o Coming-of-age ceremonies o Quinceaňera, bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah - TradiDonal Indigenous Australians o IniDaDon at puberty o Abrupt social role change to adult What physical development do adolescents experience? - Growth spurt o Girls 28cm, boys 30cm height gain o More irregular growth than earlier stages - Boys gain more weight than girls o Weight gain less predictable than height gain o Depends on diet, exercise, lifestyle - Spurt starts and ends earlier for girls - Opposite to cephalocaudal paeern Outline puberty in adolescence: - Primary sex characterisDcs o Development of sex organs - Release of gonadotrophin sDmulates o female ovaries to increase oestrogen  Menarche o male testes to increase testosterone  Spermarche - Secondary sex characterisDcs o External changes not directly involved in sexual reproducDon  Males: Facial hair, broad shoulders, increased body hair, pubic hair grows up towards navel, mature genital organs, body more muscular  Females: Mature breasts, broader hips, pubic hair What are the variaGons in pubertal development? - Wide individual diTerences o 9 - 17 years for girls’ menarche o 10 - 14 years for boys’ spermarche - Secular trend o Age of puberty lower over many generaDons Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 o Trend has slowed since 1970s - Ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diTerences o Africa: menarche 14 to 16 yrs o Economic advantage advances menarche by 18 months o African Americans earlier than Anglo or Asian American adolescents What are the variaGons in Gming of puberty? - Largely geneDcally determined - Environmental factors include o NutriDon o Underweight delays puberty o Obesity accelerates puberty o Menarche:17% body fat needed - Amenorrhoea o Associated with extreme weight loss or malnutriDon What is the impact of Non-normaGve puberty for males? - Early maturing males o Academic, emoDonal and behavioural problems, but these might be short-lived o Have opportuniDes for leadership and higher social status with peers - Late maturing males o NegaDve impact on esteem short lived o Develop posiDve qualiDes (e.g., insight) o Less pressure to engage in risk behaviours What is the impact of Non-normaGve puberty for females? - Early maturing females o NegaDve long- and short term eTects o Premature daDng and sexual encounters o Vulnerable to STIs, eaDng disorders, smoking and drinking, depression, anxiety, poor academic achievement o Related to family environment - Late maturing girls o Lower peer status, but generally more posiDve outcomes Which of Piaget’s cogniGve developmental stages do adolescents move to? There is a move from concrete to formal operaDonal thought. - Concrete operaDonal (7-11 years old) - Formal operaDonal (adolescence – adulthood) o Only half achieve full operaDonal thought, some never achieve it o HypotheDco-deducDve reasoning  SystemaDc, scienDPc approach o ProposiDonal reasoning  Making logical inferences  May apply to premises that are not factually true Formal-operaDonal thinking is absolute, and involves making decisions based on personal experience and logic. Post-formal thinking is more complex, and involves making decisions based on situaDonal constraints and circumstances, and integraDng emoDon with logic to form context-dependent principles. The disDncDon is a useful thing to understand when dealing with emerging adults who can struggle with nuances. Outline the informaGon-processing theories for adolescence: - Development in cogniDon leads to: o Increased cogniDve outcomes o Greater knowledge o Improved skills - Sustained aeenDon Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - SelecDve aeenDon Divided aeenDon Speed of processing associated with increased myelinisaDon What is memory development like in adolescence? - Short-term or working memory o InformaDon retenDon up to 30 seconds o Capacity increases in adolescence  Year 1 children may recall 3 or 4 random digits  High school students: 6 or 7 digits - Long-term memory o RelaDvely permanent storage of informaDon - CogniDve complexity theory (Halford, 1993) o Processing capacity determines complexity of task that can be mastered  Infancy – unary relaDons  Early childhood – binary  Middle childhood – terDary  Adolescence – quarternary - Development of cogniDve strategies o MetacogniDon  Awareness of how one thinks  How long I need to allow to study this  What memory strategies can I use o Mnemonics o Diagrams o Mind maps o Top down structure o Linking to experiences Outline decision making in adolescence: - Prospect theory (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974) o Balance between potenDal risk or gain o Risk-aversive, risk-seeking behaviour o PercepDon more important than actuality o Biases due to retrievability of instances - Decision-making ability increases o More opDons generated, see diTerent perspecDves, predict outcomes, evaluate informaDon sources What do quesGons of idenGty arise from? - CogniDve changes - Hormonal changes - Awakening sexual interest - NormaDve societal expectaDons - VocaDonal expectaDons How are Erikson’s stages broken up into childhood, adolescence and adulthood? Childhood - 1: Trust vs. mistrust - 2: Autonomy vs self-doubt - 3: IniDaDve vs. guilt - 4: Competence vs. inferiority Adolescence - 5: IdenDty vs. role confusion Adulthood Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - 6: InDmacy vs. IsolaDon 7: GeneraDvity vs. stagnaDon 8: Integrity vs. despair Outline idenGty formaGon: - Content includes mulDple aspects o Moral values o Religious values o PoliDcal beliefs o Social stance o InDmacy o Gender role o Sexual orientaDon o Ethnicity o VocaDon o Philosophy - IdenDty achieved through exploraDon and experimentaDon - IdenDty evaluaDon - Psychological moratorium o Time out to explore opDons and roles What factors abect idenGty development? - Few sex diTerences in idenDty outcomes, but signiPcant diTerences in processes - Males establish idenDty, then relaDonship - Female idenDty are more Ded to relaDonships - Gender role diTerences are more inbuenDal than gender - Peer group o Support and reference group o Inbuence:  Career ideals  Interpersonal relaDonships  Drug use  EaDng disorders  Aatudes to law and order  Lifestyle choice - Parents o Associated with idenDty status. - PosiDve adult and peer role models. o Absence leads to negaDve idenDty. - Personality and psychological well-being. - Societal factors. o Poverty, unemployment, poliDcal instability. - Cultural factors – ethnic idenDty. Outline self-esteem in adolescence: - Global self-esteem. o Overall view and evaluaDon of self. - Decreases in adolescence associated with transiDons, stresses and challenges of adolescence and school. - AuthoritaDve parenDng enhances self-esteem. - Authoritarian parenDng reduces it. - Gender diTerences in self-esteem: o Girls’ self-esteem declines twice as much as boys’.  May be associated with girls’ greater concern for body image. o Sex-role eTects. Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 o o Girls more vulnerable to negaDve aspects of opposite sex friendships. RomanDc relaDonships more likely to enhance boys’ self-esteem. Outline peer relaGonships in adolescence: - Increasing amount of Dme is spent away from the family. - Peers provide bridge between family and the wider world. - Intense family bonds are broken. - Bonds established with peers. - Enable the development of mature adult relaDonships. - Cliques: o A group of 3-9 members. o Characterised by close relaDonships. o Provide security, group norms. - Crowd: o A collecDon of cliques, about 20 members. o Provide group idenDty. - Structures conPrmed in diTerent countries and generaDons. What are the features of ‘crowds’? - Involved in shared acDviDes - ReputaDonal groups o Elites –cool kids o Athletes –jocks, skaters, surfs o Academics –geeks & nerds o Deviants –Goths, Emos, Stoners, Punks, Bogans o Others - InteracDve crowds o Gather at weekends or parDes o Adopt uniform appearance o Some individuals try diTerent idenDDes by belonging to diTerent crowds Explain the changes in group structure: - Early cliques and crowds (11 -13 yrs) are unisex, isolated, uncoordinated - Stage 2 – SuperPcial mixing of male and female groups - Stage 3 – Leaders form mixed-sex clique - Stage 4 – Various mixed sex groups loosely link as a crowd - Stage 5 – Couples form - Other o Racial SegregaDon of Peer Groups o US research shows considerable interracial interacDon in primary school years o Liele interacDon between racial groups in adolescence  SegregaDon may relate to need to establish idenDty  May be related to socioeconomic, rather than racial factors Outline the diberent peer statuses in adolescence: Popular adolescents - More involved with peers - Beeer social skills - May also display anDsocial behaviour Controversial adolescents - Aggressive, but socially skilled Neglected and rejected adolescents - Lack social skills, engage less with peers and with opposite sex Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 Explain adolescent friendships: - One or two close friends, same sex - Based on mutuality and inDmacy - Appreciate each other’s uniqueness - Complementarity is important – diTerent strengths provide mutual benePt - Girls’ friendships based on sharing feelings –risk of co-ruminaDon (extensively discussing and revisiDng problems, speculaDng about problems, and focusing on negaDve feelings with peers). - Friendships provide social and emoDonal support Outline romanGc relaGonships in adolescence: - DaDng o RecreaDonal, fun, separate from “courDng” funcDon o DaDng script, based on gender roles o Early relaDonships less enduring and more superPcial - Cultural diTerences relate to age for daDng - RelaDonships for homosexual adolescents are more dircult Outline the transiGon to coitus in adolescence: - TransiDon from autoeroDc to mutually eroDc acDviDes progresses through kissing and peang t o intercourse - Age of Prst coitus is decreasing - Concern about HIV/AIDS o Oral sex not necessarily safer opDon - TransiDon to coitus depends on moDvaDon, social controls, aeracDveness Outline pre-marital sex in adolescence: - Access to contracepDon changed aatudes o Permissiveness with aTecDon - Double standard o Premarital sex permieed for males, but not for females - Cultural diTerences in aatudes to sexual behaviour o Young unmarried women from ethnic minoriDes more likely to be virgins Outline sexual orientaGon in adolescence: - Gender idenDty vs. gender role o Gender idenDty was originally a medical term used to explain sex reassignment surgery to the public o It is not necessarily based on biological fact, either real or perceived, nor is it always based on sexual orientaDon o A person’s gender role is composed of several elements and can be expressed through clothing, behaviour, choice of work, personal relaDonships and other factors o Ideas of appropriate behaviour according to gender vary among cultures and era - Sexual orientaDon o ConDnuum from exclusively homosexual to exclusively heterosexual o Some idenDfy as lesbian, gay, or bisexual - Individuals idenDfy their minority sexual orientaDon o Self-labelling o Disclosure What are the dirculGes for non-heterosexual adolescents? - Achieving personal idenDty more dircult Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - May experience rejecDon from family, school, and religious groups Risk depression and suicide Factors determining sexual orientaDon o Biological and geneDc predisposiDon o Possible role of prenatal hormone, but no dePniDve evidence Adolescent Brain and risk taking behaviour: Describe the funcGon of the ‘socioemoGonal network’ and the ‘cogniGve control network’ according to Steinberg. - The socioemoDonal network is found in the internal brain regions including the amygdala, ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and superior temporal sulcus. It is highly sensiDve to emoDonal and social sDmuli and is implicated in rewarding behaviours. This system exhibits dramaDc development during puberty and is aTected by the hormonal changes that take place at this life stage. - The cogniDve control network is found in the external regions of the brain and consists of the lateral prefrontal and parDal corDces and the parts of the anterior congulate cortex to which they are connected, this system is responsible for execuDve funcDons such as planning ahead and self-regulaDon. It develops gradually over an extended period of Dme through young childhood and takes much longer to mature than the socioemoDonal network. What are the diberences in the balance between the socioemoGonal network and the cogniGve control network in adolescents and adults? - Adults can control their socioemoDonal network more. - The cogniDve network with its more gradual development trajectory is sDll not surciently strong during adolescence to overcome the signals from the socioemoDonal network (such as when the socioemoDonal network is highly aroused- generally when strong emoDons are experienced or when the individual is in a social situaDon with peers). When the individual is alone, or is not excited, the cogniDve network generally prevails. However, it is not unDl adulthood that the cogniDve network is surciently developed to overcome the impulses from the pleasure-seeking socioemoDonal network during periods of high excitement or under strong social inbuences. Because the systems that govern social and emoDonal informaDon and reward are so closely interconnected during adolescence, it might explain why so much risk-taking behaviour takes place in groups rather than when the individual is alone. How do these diberences in brain development impact on behaviour and decision making? - Adolescents are more likely to let their impulses drive their behaviour and decision making - Because the systems that govern social and emoDonal informaDon and reward are so closely interconnected during adolescence, it might explain why so much risk-taking behaviour takes place in groups rather than when the individual is alone. According to Piaget which stage are adolescents in? Formal operaDons Explain the characterisGcs of formal operaGons as opposed to concrete operaGons. Concrete operaDons (7yrs-11yrs) - During this stage, the thought process becomes more raDonal, mature and 'adult like', or more 'operaDonal', although this process most omen conDnues well into the teenage years. In the Concrete OperaDonal stage, the child has the ability to develop logical thought about an object, if they are able to manipulate it. By comparison, however, in the Formal OperaDons stage, the thoughts are able to be manipulated and the presence of the object is not necessary for the thought to take place. - Belief in animism and ego centric thought tends to decline during the Concrete OperaDonal stage, although, remnants of this way of thinking are omen found in adults. - Piaget claims that before the beginning of this stage, children's ideas about diTerent objects, are formed and dominated by the appearance of the object. For example, there appears to be more blocks when they are spread out, than when they are in a small pile. During the Concrete OperaDonal Stage, children gradually develop the ability to 'conserve', or learn that objects are not always the way that they appear to be. This occurs when children are able to take in many diTerent aspects of an object, simply through looking at it. Children are able to begin to Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - imagine diTerent scenarios, or 'what if' something were to happen. This is because they now have more 'operaDonal' thought. Children are generally Prst able to conserve ideas about objects with which they are most comfortable. Once children have learnt to conserve, they learn about 'reversibility'. This means that they learn that if things are changed, they will sDll be the same as they used to be. For example, they learn that if they spread out the pile of blocks, there are sDll as many there as before, even though it looks diTerent! Formal operaDons (11yrs-16yrs) - More abstract way of thinking - Formal-operaDonal thinking is absolute, and involves making decisions based on personal experience and logic. Post-formal thinking is more complex, and involves making decisions based on situaDonal constraints and circumstances, and integraDng emoDon with logic to form context-dependent principles. The disDncDon is a useful thing to understand when dealing with emerging adults who can struggle with nuances. - When faced with a complex problem, the adolescent speculates about all possible soluDons before trying them out in the real world. - Have the capacity for abstracDon. This permits adolescents to reason beyond a world of concrete reality to a world of possibiliDes and to operate logically on symbols and informaDon that do not necessarily refer to objects and events in the real world. There are 2 major characterisDcs of formal operaDonal thought. - The Prst is 'hypotheDc-deducDve reasoning'. When faced with a problem, adolescents come up with a general theory of all possible factors that might aTect the outcome and deduce from it speciPc hypothesis that might occur. They then systemaDcally treat these hypotheses to see which ones do in fact occur in the real world. Thus, adolescent problem solving begins with possibility and proceeds to reality. - The second important characterisDc of this stage is that it is 'proposiDonal' in nature. Adolescents can focus on verbal asserDons and evaluate their logical validity without making reference to real-world circumstances. In contrast, concrete operaDonal children can evaluate the logic of statements by considering them against concrete evidence only. Why do adolescents drink? - To be ‘cool’, alcohol is socially valued as a sign of adulthood and independence. - Them feels- It is a potent anxiety reducer and releaser of inhibiDons What physical impact do you think drinking has? While alcohol aTects each of us diTerently, regularly drinking to excess is likely to cause problems in both the short and long term. The eGects of alcohol depend on a range of factors, including: - Weight - Amount of fat or muscle - Gender - Age - Other medicaDons and drugs in your system - Other chemicals in your drinks - How fast you drink - The amount of food in your stomach - Drinking history - Tolerance to alcohol - Physical health - Mental health and emoDonal state Short-term eGects - Alcohol poisoning, coma and death - Blackouts - Blurred vision - Drowning - Fires Downloaded by Sting Ray ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|26301137 - Flushed appearance Headache Injuries associated with falls, accidents, violence and intenDonal self-harm Intense moods (aggression, elaDon, depression) Lack of co-ordinaDon Loss of inhibiDons and a false sense of conPdence Motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents Nausea and vomiDng Reduced concentraDon Slower rebexes Slurred speech Long-term eGects - Alcohol dependency - Alcohol related brain injury - Cancers (including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, bowel (in men) and breast (in women) - Cirrhosis and liver failure - ConcentraDon and long-term memory problems - Heart and cerebrovascular diseases including hypertension and stroke - Poor nutriDon - Problems with the nerves of the arms and legs - Sexual and reproducDve problems (impotence, ferDlity) - Skin problems - Stomach complaints and problems - Family and relaDonship problems - Poor work performance - Legal and Pnancial dirculDes WEEK 9 – NO LECTURES WEEK 10: DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD What are some life event transiGons of adulthood? - Marriage o Age at Prst marriage is increasing o Choice based on love: one cultural form – individualisDc cultures - Parenthood - Impact of life transiDons on well-being o NormaDve transiDon = higher life saDsfacDon and less stress problems (Lee & Gramontnev, 2007) What physical development/funcGoning do individuals experience in early adulthood? - Peak of physical abiliDes - Growth in height and weight o Secular trend (compare to models) o Risk of weight gain from more sedentary lifestyle o Full height achieved by mid-20s o Maximum bone mass by 30 years - Strength o Peaks in early 30s, then slow decline - Age-related changes o Visible: skin elasDcity o Cardiovascular (max heart rate) o Respiratory (max breathing capacity) o Sensory What health issues is stress linked to in early adulthood? 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