The Origin of Adolescence Flashcards
What is the age range for “adolescence”
10-19 (lasts until 18-21)
G. Stanley Hall
First to coin term “adolescence” formally defined developmental phase between childhood and adulthood
G. Stanley Hall found that children became ________ on their parents for longer periods of time
Due to the cultural changes in our world, i.e. schooling, ethical changes
more dependent
Stanley Hall described the emotional life of teens like…
A pendulum given to extreme swings of behaviour
- Lots of energy and entusiasm could just as easily be exchanged with indifference and boredom
- Laughter could degenerate to sadness at the drop of a hat
One big criticism of Stanley Hall—
Studied all males
Stanley hall felt that adolescents were often blank leading to a time of blank
Contradictory, storm and stress
Margaret Mead argued that
American Anthropologist that studied cultural and biological factors that shaped adolescent girls in samoa
Cultural factors, rather than biological ones, caused the motional and psychological stress of adolsence
Elkinds theory of adolescent egocentrisim considers that:
- Adolescents’ characteristic self-absorption
- Focused more on own feelings/experiience than others, despite perspective taking skills
- Wrongly believe they are the focus of others’ thinking
Elkinds Imaginary Audience
- Adolescents tendency to feel peers are constatnly watching their performance, much like actors are watched
Elkind’s Personal Fable
- Adolescents thinking their experiences and feelings are unique
Elkind’s Invincibility Fable
- believing that misfortune only happens to others
- Risk taking
- Not they don’ tunderstand what might happen, but that they think it won’t happen to them
Overall key feature of adolescence—
Immaturity in the thinking process
According to Elkind’s theory, argumentative nature is—
due to underdeveloped formal reasoning abilities
Elkind’s theory states that adolsence is a period of extreme blank because of exaggerated blank
Indecisiveness because exaggerated self-consciousness
likely to explore many avenues before making a decision
The general process of acquiring culture is referred to as
socialization
The process whereby children are shaped into responsible members society
i.e. Human infants are born without any culture
Transformed by socializing influences into cultural and socially adept animals
* Parents
* Teachers
* The media
What does socialization do for the individual?
- Acquiring norms and values of culture
- Role accquisition
- Learning to control impulses
- Developing self concept (identity
Developing self concept (identity)—
*For instance, gender identity is ones concept of maleness or femaleness
* Important because it is organizing principle in ones self image and construction of the world
In adolesence, what factors contribute more than ever to people’s understanding of the world
Peer groups and media
Ethnic Identity
Basic notion an individual has of him/herself as a member of an ethnic group
Confronting prejudice or discrimination from dominant cultures can lead to difficulty in achieving stable and healthy personal identities
What did allison davis outline?
The socialization process includes a phenomena known as socialization anxiety
- Tension and discomfort felt by individuals
- Motivates and influences behaviour
- Successful socialization can be related to amount of imposed or learned anxiety
- The right amount of anxiety is need to push an individual toward maturity
Robert Gravenhurst
Developmental tasks are important skills, knowledge, functions, and attitudes specific to each stage of life. These tasks must be met to move to the next stage.
Adolescents must
* Accept one’s physique
* Develop healthy realtions with peers (both sexes)
* Establish emotional independence
* Work toward economic independence
* Select and prepare for career
* Achieve socially acceptable behaviour
* Select a mate and prep for marriage and family
Life cycle is an example of a ________ view of social change
micro-sociological view of social change
Describes how changes in beliefs, attitudes, values, and roles of the individual lead to changes in the larger social setting.
When developmental tasks are not completed, this can lead to
Maladjustment—anxiety and social disapproval
In adolescents this can be devastating
* can lead to mental ilness or suicide
Cognitive Development
The mental activities associated with knowing, remembering, and communicating
Jean Piaget
- To make sense of the world children and adolescents create mental ideas (schemas) into which we pour our life’s experiences
- Children move through four different stages of cognitive development
The sensorimotor stage
0-2 y/o
Coordination of sneses with motor responses, sensory curiosity about the world. Language used for demands and cataloguing. Object permanence is developed.
object permanence—objects continue to exist even when out of sight
Preoperational Stage
2-7 y/o
Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express concepts. Imagination and intuition are strong, but complex abstract thoughts are still difficult. Conservation is developed.
conservation—
Concrete Operational Stage
7-11 y/o
Concepts attatched to concrete situations. TIme, space, and quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as independent concepts.
Formal Operational
11 years old and older
Theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract logic and reasoning. Strategy and planning become possible. Concepts learned in one context can be applied to another.
Adolescence marks a turning point in development because it
Begins to develop personal views
Seperates from influence of family and parents
Able to differentiate between past and present, and to reason abstractly
Able to think beyond concrete and present realtiy
According to Erikson
What if you dont succesfully develop a personal identity?
- Self doubt and anxiety
- Role confusion
- Susceptible to self-destructive behaviours w/o a clear objective or goal
- May partake in dangerous social activities
- In extreme cases these activities may take over the person, preoccupation with what others think, may withdraw from social activity, experience dinminished self-interest
- Rare—role confusion may lead to delinquent and psychotic behaviour or suicide
What did Lawrence Kohlberg establish?
Stages of Moral Development
Deve;p[ed a theory by interviwing children, presenting them with a story in which the main character was faced with a moral dilemma, followed with a series of questions.
Was able to define a series of stages or moral developments
3 levels
Lawrence Kohlberg
Internalization
When behaviour goes from being controlled externally to being controlled by the individual
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Step 1
Obidence/Punishment
No difference between doing the right thing and avoiding punishment
Infancy
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Step 1;2
**Self interest.
**Interest shifts to rewards rather than punishment — effort is made to secure greatest benefit for oneself
Pre-School
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Step 2
**Conformity & Interpersonal Accord
**The “good boy/girl” level. Effort is made to secure approval and maintain friendly relations with others.
School-age
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Step 2;2
**Authority and Social Order
**Oreintation toward fixed rules. The purpose of morality is maintaining the social order. Interpersonal accord is expanded to include the entire society.
School-Age
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Step 3
**Social Contract
**Mutual benefit, reciprocity. Morally right and legally right are not always the same. Utilitarian rules that make life better for everyone.
Teens
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Principles
Step 3;2
Universal Principles
Morality is based on principles that transcend mutual benefit
Adulthood
Prosocial Behaviour
Positive, constructive and helpful behaviour
Occurs when an individuals social and personal commitment to help others is at the forefront
Zimbardo’s heroic imagination:
Gandhi, Mother teresa; positive change; refuse to give in to negative social power
Hostile imagination:
Unleash worst behaviour on others, infect society
Moral Disengagement
Moral Justification
Detrimental behavioir is potrayed as personally and socially acceptable, serving worthy purposes
reprehensible behaviour
Moral disengagement
Euphemistic Labeling
Distorted language is used to present reprehensible behaviour as respectable
reprehensible behaviour
Moral disengagement
Advantageous Comparison
Actions are compared to each other, so that they show the advantage or negligible consequenses.
reprehensible behaviour
Moral disengagement
Displacement of responsibility
Action is presented as stemming from authorities’ dictates. (You told me what to do, its your problem)
Agent’s Responisibility
Moral disengagement
Diffusion of responsibility
Reprehensible actions are attributed to group decisions, excluding personal responsibility
Agent’s Responsibility
Moral Disengagement
Disregard for or distortion of consequences
Evidence about hurting or harmful consequences is denied or minimized
Detrimental Effects
Moral Disengagement
Dehuminzation
The victims are portrayed as sub-human objects, mindless savages, deprived of human qualities.
Detrimental effects
Moral Disengagement
Attribution of blame
The adversary or the circumstances are to blame for the actions. Punitive conduct is a response to provocation
Victim
