Midterm 1 Flashcards
normative vs idiosyncratic
normative
- means that almost everybody in a particular age or culture can expect to experience the changes at approx the same time in their development
- i.e. entering puberty, graduating high school
- can predict in advance
idiosyncratic
- refers to individual experiences
- doesn’t happen to most adolescents
- can’t predict in advance
- i.e. parental divorce, won top scholarship
Hall’s theory of adolescence
founder of ‘adolescence’
- influenced by Darwin
- believed the development of the individual paralleled the development of the human species (recapitulation)
- development through stages determined primarily by instinct - by biological/genetic forces
“storm and stress”
- hormonal changes of puberty cause upheaval - for individuals and those around them
- time of conflict and mood swings
- oscillate between good and temperamental, conceit and humility, happiness and sadness
- result of raging hormones
challenges to Hall’s theory
Margaret Mead
- did a study of cultural differences
- Samoans tend to be very quiet and friendly
- demonstrates sociocultural impact
Offer
- did a study and found 3 types of development
1) continuous: most had very few ups/downs - fairly smooth emotional transgression across teen years
2) surgent: some had emotional ups/downs which were seldom and widely spaced across time
3) tumultuous: very few experienced ups/downs - but not due to raging hormones
possible impact of hormones
more likely to have tendency to be more emotional, and can undergo rapid mood change
- levels of hormones increase and fluctuate, and it takes the body time to adjust (have been linked to greater excitability and more rapid response to stimulation)
- may stimulate increase in sex drive
- hormonal changes may affect the brain by increasing teens’ desire for highly rewarding, sensation-seeking activities
problems w/ “it’s just common sense”
assumes one knows the answer
- belief they’re correct
- belief it’s applied to all situations
problems
- used to explain an event after it has happened
- if asked to predict, they may have predicted another reason
- easy to be convinced of erroneous info that may sound plausible
- comes from the limited experience of self or one person
stereotype
widely held but fixed and oversimplified beliefs about adolescents
- derive from people having different perceptions
- evolve from limited experience
- generalized beliefs
- culturally/socially determined
stereotyping adolescents
- paints an overly negative picture of teens in media
- becomes a worldwide stereotype
- leads to an irrational fear of teens (ephebephobia)
- leads to inappropriate interactions or interventions w/ teens
- can lead to anxiety or behaving in ways that are inappropriate
reasons teens may be more emotional
responses and reactions reflect stresses posed by the major transitions and life events
- lack experience and skills
- i.e. changing schools, gaining autonomy, forming intimate friendships, issues related to sex/drugs
adolescents have developmental needs
- type of emotional experience is dependent on how these needs are met
- i.e. ongoing caring relationships w/ at least one adult, social support systems such as school
3 fundamental changes
1) biological transitions
- puberty
- change in physical appearance
- ability to reproduce
- how does this affect their psychological functioning?
2) cognitive transitions
- changes in thinking abilities - more sophisticated
- better able to think about hypothetical situations and abstract concepts
- affects how they think about themselves and world
3) social transitions
- underage/minors > age of majority
- change in social status
- social changes effect relationships
** effects of fundamental changes aren’t uniform - depends on the contexts that surround them
ecological perspective
a perspective on development that emphasizes the broader context in which development occurs
microsystem: immediate settings in which they develop - i.e. family, peer group
mesosystem: layer of environment formed by 2 or more immediate settings - i.e. school-home linkage
exosystem: layer of environment that doesn’t directly contain the developing person, but affects the setting in which they live
macrosystem: the outermost layer, containing forces such as history and culture
psychosocial issues
identity
autonomy
- become less emotional dependent on parents
- learn to make independent decisions
- establish a personal code of values/morals
intimacy
sexuality
achievement
types of theoretical perspectives (5)
biosocial theories
- Hall
organismic theories
- Freud, Erikson, Piaget
learning theories
- Skinner, Bandura
sociological theories
- adolescent marginality, intergenerational conflict
historical/anthropological
- adolescence as an intervention
hormonal processes (2)
organizational role
- process through which early exposure to hormones, especially prenatally, organizes the brain or other organs in anticipation of later changes in behaviour or patterns of growth
activation role
- the process through which changes in hormone levels, especially at puberty, stimulate changes in the adolescent’s behaviour, appearance or growth
** other changes in puberty are likely to be results of an interaction between organizational and activational effects of hormones
variations in timing/tempo
- can occur as early as 7 in girls and 9.5 in boys
- or as late as 13 in girls and 13.5 in boys
- interval between girls’ 1st sign of puberty and complete maturation can be from 1.5 - 6 years
- in boys, interval is 2 - 5 years
ethnic/cultural differences in timing/tempo
- Black females mature earlier than Mexican girls
- Mexican girls mature earlier than White girls
possible explanation: more frequent exposure to chemicals in the environment that stimulate early puberty, i.e. hairspray
sex differences in muscle/fat
- before puberty, relatively few differences
- muscle tissue grows faster in boys, while body fat increases more for girls
- end result = boys finish adolescence w/ a muscle-to-fat ratio of 3:1 and girls 5:4
- leads to difference in athletic performance
- nutriton differences may contribute to different athletic performances
- androgens increase in males at faster rate
individual differences in timing/tempo (nature/nurture)
nature
- twin studies show strong genetic component
- specific region on chromosome 6 has been identified
nurture
- health, nutrition, exercise (interaction of all)
- delay if protein or caloric deficiency
- chronic illness may delay
- excessive exercise may delay
- alcohol consumption delays
- environmental influence viewed as an upper/lower limit
** nutrition and health are the 2 most important environmental factors
familial influence on timing/tempo (3)
3 familial factors that accelerate onset of puberty
1) conflict ridden household
2) physically or sexually abused
3) stepfather (pheromone exposure)
- boys’ maturation hasn’t been consistently linked to family functioning
- occurs earlier in girls who grew up in a father-absent family, w/ a stepfather, or in a conflict-ridden household
- may induce stress, which may affect hormonal secretions
- presence of a stepfather may expose her to pheromones, which may stimulate pubertal maturation
- exposure to unrelated members of other sex may accelerate puberty
group differences in timing/tempo
compare averages of menarche in different regions
- genetics have small role in group differences
- look at changes in menarche over time
- in US, median age ranges from 12.5 - 13.5
- in Africa, ranges from 14 - 17
the secular trend
the tendency, over the past 2 centuries, for individuals to be larger in stature and to reach puberty earlier - primarily b/c of improvements in health and nutrition
- also attributable to improved sanitation and better control of infectious diseases
- less well documented in boys - no clear marker
- evidence of continued decline in age of puberty in girls, as indexed by breast development and menarche, but not by genital maturation and pubic hair
- problem = different indicators influenced by different hormones/processes
pheromones
a class of chemicals secreted by animals that stimulate certain behaviours in other members of the species
adolescent growth spurt
the dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during puberty
peak height velocity: point at which teen is growing the most rapidly
epiphysis: the closing of the ends of the bones, which terminates growth after the adolescent growth spurt has been completed
developmental factors that put teens at risk for emotional trouble
- lack of knowledge
- lack of experience
- lack of support
- their perception
changes in brain system
- changes that regulate the adrenal glands
- can impact how teens relate to stress
- can lead to excessive secretion of cortisol
- hormonal changes can increase the susceptibility/responsiveness to stress
early maturation in males
advantages
- popular, better self-esteem, appear more poised, relaxed, well-mannered, responsible, cooperative, sociable
- athletic advantage
- engage in more extracurricular activities
- social prestige - chosen for leadership roles
- interest in girls
- results = adults favour them
disadvantages
- more internalized distress
- early involvement w/ sex, drugs, alcohol, delinquency
- negative impact if victimized
- some evidence of elevated rates of depression
- precocious sexual activity
- may have older peers
- results = less creative in later adulthood
late maturation in males
advantages
- higher ratings on measure of intellectual curiosity, exploratory behaviour, and social initiative
- result = more creative and insightful as adults
disadvantages
- socially induced inferiority
- negative self-perceptions
- characterized as less attractive, restless, bossy
- tendency to be more rebellious
- self-conscious
- use attention-getting devices
- results = internalizing symptoms, i.e. depression, anxiety
** society doesn’t see them as overly-masculine
early maturation in females
advantages
- envied by other girls
- popularity w/ peers
- attract the attention of older boys
disadvantages
- less popular w/ classmates
- become more involved w/ boys that they attract
- lack of support - unsympathetic, hostile
- have difficulties relating to other group
- results = risk of delinquency, smoking, drinking, drug use, sex, eating disorders (poor self-image)
late maturation in females
advantages
- more likely to participate more in academics and sports
- less likely to have mental difficulties later
disadvantages
- disadvantages in junior and senior high
- look like little girls and may resent that
- envious of girls who matured earlier, and attract male attention
- late dating may be perceived as negative
** findings discussed are based on group averages referred to as between group - within group would reveal individual differences
theoretical perspective of why early maturing females have more problems (3)
1) developmental readiness hypothesis
- may tax psychological resources
2) cultural and contextual factors
- value of body type
3) maturational deviance hypothesis
- distress occurs if teens are different and stand out from the rest of the group
- standing out at a time that they want to blend in
** changes associated w/ male maturation more desired - females have increases in body fat
factors that increase chance of body dissatisfaction
- the increase in body fat (even if not overweight)
- early maturation
- come from relatively affluent families
- spend time discussing/comparing w/ friends
- cliques - more emphasis on appearance
- exposure to mass media (thinness ideals)
- social pressure to be thin
- cultural preference
- teens often ruminate