EXAM 1: Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is adolescence?
Adolescence is the developmental period defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood
Emerging adulthood is often a sub-part of the adolescent period, considering
Brain development
Social development
Continued establishment of independence from caregivers
What is the GI Generation
Born ~1901-1924
- experienced WWII as emerging results
What is the silent generation
Born ~1925-1942
- experienced the civil rights movements as emerging adults, too young for WWII service
What is the baby boomers generation
Born ~1943-1964
- Experienced the Vietnam War, anti-establishment counterculture of 1960s/70s as adolescents
What is generation X
Born ~1965-1979
- The MTV generation and the end of the Cold War
What is Millennials/Generation Y
Born ~1980-1996
- Experienced tech boom during adolescence, smartphone ubiquity during emerging adulthood
What is generation Z
Born ~1997-2012
- Social media in full swing during childhood/adolescence, currently adolescents
In the history of adolescence what was the first acknowledgement of the adolescent period
Ancient Greek philosophers
- Aristotle - reasoning first emerges in ‘boyhood’ (7-14) and improves across ‘young manhood’ (14-21)
History of Adolescence: what were the developments during the 18th century
Rousseau the philosopher deemed the 3 developmental periods:
- Birth to 12 years: guided by impulses
- 12 to 16: reasoning develops
- 16 to 20: cognitive and emotional maturation
Youth is still largely viewed as ‘little adults’
History of adolescence: what were the developments during the late 19th-20th century
Social-cultural changes forged the adolescent period
- Industrial Revolution
- rise of need for skilled labor
- movement to enhance education and protect youth from hazardous working conditions
US States passed laws requiring primary and secondary schooling
History of adolescence: when was ‘adolescence’ recognized as a distinct developmental period
The late 19th century
History of Adolescence: Who is known as the ‘father of adolescence’
G. Stanley Hall
- scientifically studied adolescent period
- defined period of ‘storm and stress’
- Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny
- development recapitulates evolution
What does G. Stanley Hall mean by the period of ‘storm and stress’
Storm = decreased level of self control
Success = increased susceptibility of stress
___________ about adolescence shape adolescent behavior
Expectations
What are examples of how conceptions of adolescence are defined by culture
US adolescents are more likely to emphasize independence
Chinese adolescents showed continued close ties with family
- these culturally driven differences shaped risk-taking behavior
What are the three domains of development
Physical
Cognitive
Socioemotional
What is something to note about the periods of adolescence
Adolescents vary in their timing of biological and social transitions and behaviors
- rough estimates of age ranges differ based on source and are often changing
- personal factors may influence transitions between periods
What are the rough estimates of age ranges of the periods of adolescence
Early adolescence: 10-14 (middle school)
Middle adolescence: 14-16 (first half of high school)
Late adolescence: 16-18 (later high school)
Emerging Adulthood: 18-25 (post-secondary)
What are the developmental tasks of adolescence
Identity
- social roles, central traits, racial/ethnic identity, gender identity, sexual identity, career paths
Autonomy
- emotional, cognitive and behavioral
Intimacy
- Ability to form and sustain close relationships, honesty, trust, mutual respect
Sexuality
- defining body image, understanding and expressing sexual feelings and behaviors
What does theory mean
Theories describe and explain a phenomena
- must be internally consistent, testable and supported by research
What are the major issues addressed by theories of development
- Nature-nurture
- activity-passivity (how active is the person in their own development)
- Continuity-discontinuity (does change occur over time or all at once)
- universality-context specificity (does everyone go through the same development or is it different)
What is one of Freuds famous theories
Psychoanalytic theory
Of Freuds Psychoanalytic theory what are the findings
Unconscious motivation and psychosexual stage theory
What is unconscious motivation
The power of biological instincts and emotional conflicts to influence our behavior without our awareness
What is the psychosexual stage theory
Each stage characterized by a fundamental need that must be met to healthily progress
What are the strengths of Freud’s contributions
Some general insights have stood up well and influenced later theories
- unconscious processes, importance of early experiences ( early childhood impacts development)
What are some weaknesses of Freud’s contributions
Nearly impossible to study the unseen id, ego and superego
Many of the psychosexual ideas have not been supported by research
What is Eriksons theory of the psychosocial stages
Humans experience eight major psychosocial stages during their lives, (discontinuous development)
- each stage is associated with a particular conflict
What are the strengths of the psychosocial stages
Focuses on development throughout the lifespan
Captures important issues at each stage
What are some weaknesses of the psychosocial stages
Can be vague and difficult to test
- provides descriptions but not explanations
What is the learning theory, behaviorism
The idea that all we care about is behavior, or what can be observed
- behaviorism asserted that only behaviors, not thoughts, should be studied
- emphasize the role of external factors in continuous (slowly over time) shaping behavior
What is a famous example of a behaviorism study
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
- learning through association (ex, showing a dog a bone and ball together, the dog will still get excited even when its just the ball as it associates it with the bone)
- learning through rewards and punishments ( ex: punishing a kid for a messy room and rewarding them for a clean room)
- behavior can be explained by the consequences it produces
What did skinners operant conditioning tests show
Increasing or decreasing the probability of a response through reinforcement and punishment
- positive reinforcement: add something and increasing behavior
- Positive punishment: adding something and decreasing behavior
- Negative Reinforcement: remove something and increase behavior
- negative punishment: remove something and decrease behavior
What is Bandura’s theory of social learning
Emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person’s behavior, beyond punishment and reward
- modeling and reciprocal determinism
What is modeling (banduras social theory)
People learn by observing other people and copying them
What is reciprocal determinism (Bandura Social Learning)
Person, environment, and behavior are all factors that influence each other bidirectionally over time
What are the strengths of learning theories
They are precise and testable
Can be used to understand development of behaviors at any age
Practical applications in cognitive/behavioral therapies and techniques
What are weaknesses of learning theories
Learning might be responsible for behaviors but it isn’t necessarily the only explanation
What are cognitive theories
Believe that developmental stages defined by maturation of cognitive abilities
What is Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory
Children construct and adapt schemas to understand the world
- schemas is how we group things into categories
There are 4 stages of cognitive development
Critics argue that Piaget undervalued the role of context
What is vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
Culture is transmitted through generations by social interaction
- cognitive development is guided by more mature social partners - zone of proximal development
Critics noted lack of emphasis on active role of developing person and biological factors
What are information processing theories
Humans are limited-capacity processing systems
- continuous increases in biological processing speed and storage underlie development
Critics argue computers are too simplistic as an analogy to humans
What is the Bronfenbrenner Bioecological Model
The process of human development is shaped by the interaction between the individual and their environment
- microsystem
- mesosystem
- ecosystem
- macrosystem
- chronosystem
Bioecological Model: what is the Microsystem
Anything the child is directly interacting with
- ex: family, classroom, religious settings, peer group
Bioecological Model: what is the mesosystem
Layered interactions between the systems in the Microsystems
- ex: parents interacting with teacher
Bioecological Model: what is the exosystem
Broader systems, not as regularly interacted with or directly impacted
Ex: school systems, community, mass media, medical institutions
Bioecological Model: what is the macrosystem
Even broader and vague, such as political philosophy, economic patterns, social conditions, cultural values, national customs
Bioecological Model: what is the chronosystem
How historical changes impact development
What is reliability
Consistency, generalizability
What is validity
Accuracy
What are the key properties of measurement tools in developmental research methods
Need both good reliability and validity for proper measurement
What are some ways to gather data
Questionnaires, interviews, self report measures
What is a questionnaire
The person under study answers questions about his or her experiences, attitudes, opinions beliefs and behaviors
What are interviews
Useful to collect in-depth self-reports on same topics from everyone being studied, and/or from an individual for diagnostic purposes
What are some challenges of self-report measures
People may give socially desirable answers
Self-report date may not always reflect people’s true attitudes and behavior
Especially youth report
- adolescents may feel hesitant to report substance use, mental health, sexual/romantic
What is naturalistic observation
Observe and record behavior in natural, real world settings
What is structured observation
Observing and recording behaviors displayed in a controlled environment
What is correlation research designs
Examines association between variables
Ranges from 1 (strongest positive correlation) to -1 (strongest negative correlation)
REMINDER: correlation does not equal causation
What is experimental research
Allows scientists to test hypotheses about causal relationships
Must include
- independent variable and dependent variables
- multiple groups or conditions
What are the 3 times of developmental research designs
Longitudinal (following people over time)
Cross-sectional study (studying people from different age groups
Sequential (both longitudinal and cross-sectional measurements)
What are ethical issues in research
- Beneficence and nonmalefience (maximize benefit and minimize harm)
- Responsibility
- Integrity
- Justice (making sure everyone has a fair chance of getting chosen)
- Respect for autonomy
What is informed consent
Participants have the right to be informed about the purpose of the research, expected duration, procedures…
For children, a parent or guardianmust provide informed consent
What is confidentiality
Participants have the right to conceal their identity on all information and reports obtained in the course of research
What are some special considerations for adolescents in research
Adolescent assent and parental permission
Access to care if in immediate danger
Limits of confidentiality
- sharing essential information with parent/legal guardian
- mandated reporting: required by law to report “reasonable cause” to suspect child abuse or neglect
