Ch 1: Introduction

Question 1

Adolescence

Answer 1

comes from Latin word which means “grow to maturity”

Question 2

Adolescent years

Answer 2

EARLY: 11-14
MIDDLE: 15-17
LATE: 18+

Question 3

Approaches to studying adolescence

Answer 3

1. Biological (puberty, growth spurts, etc.)
2. Cognitive (changes in how they think/make decisions)
3. Psychosexual (development of emotions/identity/self-concept)
4. Social (relationships)

–> Eclectic approach: emphasizes the importance of ALL approaches

Question 4

Why is adolescence getting prolonged and adulthood getting delayed?

Answer 4

1. AD take longer to finish education because more education is needed for good jobs
2. There’s an increased social acceptance about premarital sex
3. Financial pressures

Question 5

What revolutions have greatly impacted adolescent development recently?

Answer 5

1. Information-technology revolution (use, inappropriate materials, online relationship)
2. Workplace revolution (parents work more hours, materialistic mindset)
3. Education revolution (more AD pursuing further education, more debt)
4. Family revolution (older, smaller, odd families)
5. Sexual revolution (so much exposure)
6. Violence revolution (crimes against AD, exposure to more violence, AD deaths)

Question 6

Biological Theories of Adolescence (2)

Answer 6

Stanley Hall
–Father of adolescent psychology
–AD is characterized by emotional seesaw (extremely unflattering to AD)

Arnold Gesell
–Allowed for individual differences in AD
–“Spiral developments” ADs spiral between different traits until later they stabilize and stick with specific traits.

Question 7

Psychoanalytical/psychosocial theories of adolescence (3)

Answer 7

Sigmund Freud
–AD is a time of personality disturbance, sexual excitement, and anxiety

Anna Freud
–AD is full of internal conflict, psychic mess, and erratic behaviour

Erik Erikson
–AD is a development period of adolescents’ identity

Question 8

Cognitive theories of adolescence (3)

Answer 8

Jean Piaget
–AD are more logical and abstract, are more introspective, etc.

Robert Selman
–AD social perspective and how that changes their behaviour

Albert Bandura
–“Social learning theory” AD learn by watching others

Question 9

Cultural theories of adolescence (3)

Answer 9

Robert Havighurst

Kurt Lewin

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Question 10

Robert Havighurst

Answer 10

Eight developmental tasks of adolescence:

1) accepting one’s body
2) having mature relationships
3) achieving sex role
4) emotional independence
5) Prepping for career
6) Prepping for marriage/family
7) Behaving responsibly
8) Acquiring values/ethics

Question 11

Kurt Lewin

Answer 11

Field Theory: adolescent behaviour is a function of the person and their environment.
–Lack of cognitive structures which leads to uncertainty in AD behaviour
–Concept of “marginal man” (in-between stage of not-child but also not-adult)l

Question 12

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Answer 12

ENVIRONMENT is the key influence on AD behaviour

1) Microsystem (immediate): home, church
2) Mesosystem (reciprocal relationships among Microsystems): conflict at work leads to conflict at home
3) Exosystem (environments that don’t contain adolescents but influence them the same): parental jobs, etc.
4) Macrosystem (customs, laws): laws that restrict AD

Question 13

Characteristics of Generation Z

Answer 13

–Has grown up with tech
–Very concerned with safety
–Less interested in religion
–Decline in volunteering, but increase in political activism
–Concerned for the future
–Inclusive (anti-discrimination)
–Less confident academically
–Prolonged childhood
–Very open with information
–Desires popularity
–Mental health issues
–Lots of responsibilities/always rushed
–Protected and sheltered

Question 14

Describe the views of adolescence held by (i) Plato, (ii) Aristotle, and (iii) Rousseau.

Answer 14

Plato: reasoning doesn’t belong to childhood, it first appears in adolescence.

Aristotle: most important aspect of adolescence is the ability to choose. Also recognized adolescents’ egocentrism.

Rousseau: reasoning develops in adolescence. Curiosity should especially be encouraged in the education of 12 to 15-year-olds.

Question 15

What is Margaret Mead’s sociocultural view of adolescence?

Answer 15

Suggested that the basic nature of adolescence is sociocultural, not biological. She studied adolescents on Samoa, an island in the South Sea, and concluded the following:

—-Cultures that provide a smooth, gradual transition from childhood to adulthood, like in Samoa, result in much less stress/conflict at the adolescent age.

—Cultures that allow adolescents to observe sexual relations, see babies born, regard death as natural, do important work, engage in sex play, and know clearly what their adult roles will be tend to promote a relatively stress-free adolescence.

She was later criticized as being biased and error-prone, and that she had warped the results to portray Samoan adolescents to be much less stressed than reality.

Question 16

Why do historians call the decades between 1890 and 1920 the “age of adolescence?”

Answer 16

Lawmakers enacted a great deal of compulsory legislation aimed at youth.
Passed laws that 1) excluded youth from most employment and 2) required them to attend secondary school.
Between 1910 and 1930, the number of 10 to 15-year-olds who were employed dropped about 75%.
600% more youth graduated from high school in 1930 than 1900.

Question 17

According to Laurence Steinberg (in his book, Age of Opportunity), what are some of the problems today’s adolescents are facing?

Answer 17

????? didn’t get the answer to this one

Question 18

What is the adolescent generalization gap?

Answer 18

(In reference to stereotypes): the generalizations that are based on information about a limited, often highly visible, group of adolescents.

Question 19

Describe the results of Daniel Offer’s research and discuss what these results suggest about the common negative stereotype of adolescents.

Answer 19

They found no support for such a negative view of adolescence as is common in today’s society.

These results suggest that the common negative stereotype of adolescents comes from a previously biased perspective in regards to adolescents.

Question 20

Describe each of the Five C’s of positive youth development, and how they develop (according to Lerner and her colleagues).

Answer 20

The Five C’s:
- Competence: having a positive perception of one’s actions in domain-specific areas (social, academic, physical, career, etc.)
- Confidence: having an overall positive sense of self-worth and self-efficacy (a sense that one can master a situation and produce positive outcomes)
- Connection: having positive relationships with others, including family, peers, teachers, and individuals in the community
- Character: having respect for societal rules, an understanding of right and wrong, and integrity
- Caring/compassion: showing emotional concern for others, especially those in distress.

How they develop:
–Youth need access to positive social contexts (youth development programs, organized youth activities, etc.) and competent people (caring teachers, community leaders, mentors, etc.)

Question 21

What does a developmentally-attentive youth policy (social policy) emphasize?

Answer 21

It would emphasize “the family, neighbourhood, school, youth organization, places of work, and congregations as policy intervention points.”

Question 22

What is emerging adulthood?

Answer 22

Emerging adulthood: the transition from adolescence to adulthood; happens approximately between 18 to 25 years of age.

Characteristics: experimentation and exploration

Question 23

What are the five key characteristics of emerging adulthood (according to Arnett)?

Answer 23

1) Identity exploration

2) Instability

3) Self-focused

4) Feeling in-between

5) The age of possibilities

Question 24

What are the characteristics of resilient adolescents?

Answer 24

More intelligent, experienced higher parenting quality, and were less likely to have grown up in poverty or low-income circumstances than their counterparts who did not become competent as emerging adults.

Question 25

Describe the continuity-discontinuity issue with respect to adolescent development.

Answer 25

Argument about whether AD develop suddenly or gradually.

Continuity: a child’s first world, while seemingly an abrupt, discontinuous event, is actually the result of weeks and months of growth and practice.

Discontinuity: at some point, a child’s brain moves from not being able to think abstractly about the world to being able to—a qualitative, discontinuous change in development.

Question 26

14. According to Vygotsky, what is an important factor in an adolescent’s cognitive development?

Answer 26

Social interaction and culture—his theory emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development.