Cognitive Transition Flashcards
What are the three fundamental changes that occur during adolescence
- Puberty (which we’ve already covered)
- Social roles (which we will spend a lot of the rest of the semester talking about)
- Cognition
In what ways are adolescents more sophisticated than children?
- Think about possibilities
- Think about abstract concepts
- Think about thinking (metacognition)
- Think in multiple dimensions
- See things as relative, not as absolute (relativism)
What is key skill that emerges during adolescence?
he ability to generate Alternative Possibilities
How do adolescents generate Alternative possibilities?
- They begin to wonder about how their personalities might change in the future
- They start to think about how they might have been different had they grown up under different circumstances
- In a general sense they are able to move easily between the specific and the abstract
-This is probably what makes them seem so argumentative! They see what “could be” as opposed to just “what is”!
What is Deductive Reasoning?
A type of reasoning in which one draws logically necessary conclusions from a general set of premises, or givens
What is Hypothetical Thinking?
“if-then” thinking
Why is Deductive Reasoning and Hypothetical Thinking so important?
- This is really important because it allows us to make decisions about our behavior
- People need to be able to see beyond what is directly observable and apply logical reasoning to anticipate what might be possible.
What are some examples of Abstract Thinking?
- Able to think about interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy, religion, and morality
- Able to think about abstract concepts such as friendship, faith, democracy, fairness, and honesty
What can the development of Abstract Thinking lead to between adolescents and parents?
can lead to tension in parental relationship especially if the parent is not cognitively flexible
What is Social Cognition?
The aspect of cognition that concerns thinking about other people, about interpersonal relationships, and about social institutions
What individual differences in Social Cognition account for a lot of the variability in the social problems that adolescents have?
- Adolescents’ conceptions of interpersonal relationships become more developed
- Gains in the area of social cognition help account for many advances typically associated with adolescence—in the realms of identity, autonomy, intimacy, sexuality, and achievement
What are the 4 categories of research on social cognition in adolescence
- Theory of mind
- Mentalizing
- Social Conventions
- Conceptions of laws, civil liberties, and rights
What is Mentalizing?
the ability to understand someone else’s mental state
What is Theory of Mind?
The ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions and knowledge that may be different from their own
True or False: Mentalizing Abilities also change the way that adolescents think about social relationships – not just with their peers but with adults as well
True
What are Social Conventions and how do adolescents begin to understand them?
- Norms or cognitive schemas that govern our basic behavior
- They start to play with these conventions (i.e. behavior in a classroom; embarrassing their parents with inappropriate behavior…) before eventually realizing (as they mature) that these conventions are necessary!
What are Conceptions of laws, civil liberties, and rights?
- A more nuanced interpretation of the relationship between individuals and the society in which they live
-Freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
COVID restrictions
What is Metacognition?
The process of thinking about thinking itself
What does Metacognition involve?
- Involves monitoring one’s own cognitive activity during thinking
- Being able to assess how well one is learning new material
- Increased introspection: thinking about our own emotions
- Increased self-consciousness: thinking about how others think about us
What is Adolescent Egocentrism?
Extreme self-absorption
What are the 2 forms of Adolescent Egocentrism
- Imaginary Audience
- Personal Fable
What is Imaginary Audience?
The belief, often brought on by the heightened self-consciousness of early adolescence, that everyone is watching and evaluating one’s behavior
What is Personal Fable?
An adolescent’s belief that he or she is unique and therefore not subject to the rules that govern other people’s behavior
What is so dangerous about Adolescent Egocentrism?
Can cause the dangerous belief that nothing bad can happen to them because they are special
How do adolescents develop a more sophisticated understanding of probability?
- Adolescents develop far more complicated self-conceptions and relationships
- They describe themselves and others in more complex ways
True or False: The ability to look at things in multiple dimensions enables their ability to understand and enjoy sarcasm
True
True or False: Adolescents do not shift from seeing things as absolute to seeing things as relative
False: They do shift from absolute to relative
True or False: Compared to children, adolescents are not more likely to question others’ assertions and less likely to accept “facts” as absolute truths
False: They are more likely
What are the Two viewpoints on adolescence thought?
- Piagetian
- Information processing
What is the Piagetian Viewpoint?
Cognitive-developmental view: A perspective based on the work of Jean Piaget, that takes a qualitative, 4 stage-theory approach.
What is the 1st stage of the Piagetian Viewpoint?
Sensorimotor period: The first stage of cognitive development, spanning the period between birth and age 2. Not much “thought” here; mostly sensory and motor development
What is the 2nd stage of the Piagetian Viewpoint?
Preoperational period: The second stage of cognitive development, spanning roughly ages 2–5. Symbolic thought emerges (i.e. language)
What is the 3rd stage of the Piagetian Viewpoint?
Concrete operations: The third stage, spanning the period roughly between age 6 and early adolescence. Some logical thought begins to emerge
What is the 4th stage of the Piagetian Viewpoint?
**Formal operations: The fourth stage, spanning the period from early adolescence through adulthood. Much more logical, abstract thought emerges; Complex reasoning
What occurs during the Formal Operations Stage?
- This is the chief feature that differentiates adolescent thinking from that of children
- A system of thinking that works in BOTH real-life and hypothetical situations
Why is the Piagetian view is not as influential as it used to be?
Because there is little evidence that:
- cognitive development proceeds in a stage-like fashion
- there is a uniquely “adolescent stage” of thinking
What is the Information processing perspective?
A perspective on cognition that derives from the study of artificial intelligence and attempts to explain cognitive development in terms of specific components of the thinking process.
What are the 4 areas focused on in the Information processing perspective?
- Attention
- Memory
- Processing speed
- Organization
What are the two types of Attention?
- Selective Attention
- Divided Attention
What is Selective Attention?
The process by which we focus on one stimulus while tuning out another
What is Divided Attention
The process or paying attention to two or more stimuli at the same time
True or False: Adolescents improve in both types of attention AND
The ability to inhibit an unwanted response also improves during early and middle adolescence
True for both
What is Working Memory?
That aspect of memory in which information is held for a short time while a problem is being solved.
What is Long-Term Memory?
The ability to recall something from long ago.
What is Autobiographical Memory?
The recall of personally meaningful events.
What is Reminiscence Bump?
The fact that experiences from adolescence are generally recalled more than experiences from other stages of life. This is because the brain is hypersensitive to emotion
What is Speed of Processing?
Adolescents gain the ability to process the information needed to solve problems faster
When is does the biggest increase in speed of processing occur?
The biggest increase in speed occurs in early adolescence
What is Organization of Information?
- Adolescents improve in their ability to use organizational strategies when approaching problems
- With age, individuals’ strategies become increasingly efficient
When is cognitive development complete?
- By age 15, adolescents are as proficient as adults in basic cognitive abilities
- They are still, HOWEVER, developing sophisticated cognitive skills, such as thinking creatively, planning ahead, or judging costs and benefits
They are actually really bad at this! - The development of advanced abilities may not be complete until the mid-20s…
