Week 15: Adolescence, Emerging Adulthood, and Aging Flashcards
Learning Objectives:
- Describe major features of physical, cognitive, and social development during adolescence.
- Understand why adolescence is a period of heightened risk taking.
- Be able to explain sources of diversity in adolescent development.
Define Adolescence
a period of transformation, primarily, in terms of physical, cognitive, and social-relational change.
Developmental stage that has been defined as starting with puberty and ending with the transition to adulthood (approximately ages 10–20).
Adolescence has evolved historically, with evidence indicating that this stage is lengthening as individuals start puberty earlier and transition to adulthood later than in the past. Puberty today begins, on average, at age 10–11 years for girls and 11–12 years for boys.
emerging adulthood time period
one changes out of adolescence and into adulthood, occurring from approximately ages 18 to 29
Adolescence - Physical change
Puberty
growth spurt in height, growth of pubic and underarm hair, and skin changes (e.g., pimples). Boys also experience growth in facial hair and a deepening of their voice. Girls experience breast development and begin menstruating. These pubertal changes are driven by hormones, particularly an increase in testosterone for boys and estrogen for girls.
Cognitive Improvements during early adolescence (4)
attention
memory
processing speed
metacognition
Dopamine
produces feelings of pleasure
During adolescence, people tend to do whatever activities produce the most dopamine, without fully considering the consequences of such actions.
Psychological control
Parents’ manipulation of and intrusion into adolescents’ emotional and cognitive world through invalidating adolescents’ feelings and pressuring them to think in particular ways.
homophily
Adolescents tend to associate with peers who are similar to themselves.
Deviant peer contagion
The spread of problem behaviors within groups of adolescents.
Ex. laughing in inappropriate settings
What are Crowds
Adolescent peer groups characterized by shared reputations or images.
In contrast to friendships (which are reciprocal dyadic relationships) and cliques (which refer to groups of individuals who interact frequently), crowds are characterized more by shared reputations or images than actual interactions
Adolescents & romantic relationships
Although romantic relationships during adolescence are often short-lived rather than long-term committed partnerships, their importance should not be minimized. Adolescents spend a great deal of time focused on romantic relationships, and their positive and negative emotions are more tied to romantic relationships (or lack thereof) than to friendships, family relationships, or school
Four identity statuses in identity formation
- foreclosure
- identity diffusion
- moratorium
- identity achievement
Foreclosure
Individuals commit to an identity without exploration of options
Identity diffusion
Adolescents neither explore nor commit to any roles or ideologies.
moratorium
State in which adolescents are actively exploring options but have not yet made identity commitments.
Identity achievment
Individuals have explored different options and then made commitments.
Patterson’s (1982) “early vs. late” starter model of the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior
Early Starter
antisocial behavior begins during childhood
*greater risk for long-term antisocial behavior that extends into adulthood than are late starters.
*Early, antisocial behavior leads to befriending others who also engage in antisocial behavior, which only perpetuates the downward cycle of aggression and wrongful acts.
Patterson’s (1982) “early vs. late” starter model of the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior
Late Starter
antisocial behavior begins during adolescence
*experience poor parental monitoring and supervision, aspects of parenting that become more salient during adolescence. Poor monitoring and lack of supervision contribute to increasing involvement with deviant peers, which in turn promotes adolescents’ own antisocial behavior.
Moffitt’s (1993) life-course persistent vs. adolescent-limited model
Moffitt regards adolescent-limited antisocial behavior as resulting from a “maturity gap” between adolescents’ dependence on and control by adults and their desire to demonstrate their freedom from adult constraint. However, as they continue to develop, and legitimate adult roles and privileges become available to them, there are fewer incentives to engage in antisocial behavior, leading to desistance in these antisocial behaviors.
Starting in early adolescence, compared with males…
females have rates of anxiety that are about ____ as high and rates of depression that are ___ to ____ times as high
(1) 2x
(2) 1.5x
(3) 3x
prevalence rates for specific phobias are about __% in children and __%–__% in adults but __% in adolescents.
(1) 5
(2) 3
(3) 5
(4) 16
Stress “Misery loves company” in adolescence
Depressed youths select other depressed youths as friends and then frequently co-ruminate as they discuss their problems, exacerbating negative affect and stress
*intensified for girls
Factors for success in academic achievement
- Interpersonal factors: parental engagement in adolescents’ education
- Intrapersonal factors: intrinsic motivation
- Institutional factors: school quality
differential susceptibility
Genetic factors that make individuals more or less responsive to environmental experiences.