Human Development Chapters 11-14
metacognition
(awareness of thought) expands, leading to new insights into effective strategies for acquiring information and solving problems
identity
-(Erikson) recognized as the major personality achievement of adolescence and as a crucial step toward becoming a productive, content adult... -gain an understanding of who you are -process of exploration -followed by commitment (to values, decisions, etc)
formal operational stage
-Piaget's highest stage, beginning around 11 pears of age, in which adolescents develop the capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking -no longer require concrete things or events as objects of thought... -instead, they come up with new, more general logical rules through internal reflection
hypothetico-deductive reasoning
-a formal operation problem-solving strategy in which adolescents, when faced with a problem, start with a hypothesis, or prediction about variables that might affect an outcome, from which they deduce logical, testable inferences — then they systematically isolate and combine variables to see which of these inferences are confirmed in the real world -if-then reasoning -try to use reality to help solve problems -hypothesize and deduce logic
autonomy
-a sense of oneself as a separate, self-governing individual — becomes a significant task -adolescent perspective - less emphasis on parent relationships, more emphasis on friends/social standing -natural shift from parents
propositional thought
-a type of formal operational reasoning involving an adolescents' ability to evaluate the logic of propositions (verbal statements) without referring to real-world circumstances -in contrast, children can evaluate the logic of statements only by considering them against concrete evidence in the real world -green and not green vs. not green...
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
-adding some weight between ages 25 and 50 is a normal part of aging because of this or the amount of energy the body uses at complete rest -excess weight strongly associated with serious health problems -type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, forms of cancer
pragmatic thought
-adolescents are more hypothetical in thinking whereas adults are more logical in thinking -a structural advance in which logic becomes a tool for solving real-world problems
self-concept in adolescences
-adolescents unify separate personality traits into larger, abstract ones -but they may also describe general contradictory traits... -contradictory traits also appear in different settings or contexts -adolescent is often viewed as social with friends, reserved with parents/family -cognitive changes enable teenagers to combine their traits into a more sensible, organized system
Gisella Labouvie-Vief's Theory
-adulthood involves a movement from hypothetical to pragmatic thought -as adults select one path out of many, they become more aware of constraints of everyday life (find more problems or difficult situations) -use of pragmatic thought aids in adapting to variability or many changes in life -integration of cognition and emotion for adults leads to gains in cognitive-affective complexity -promotes awareness of perspectives and motivations -recognizes uniqueness of individual experiences
friendships in early adulthood
-age, sex, and SES...factors that contribute to common interests, experiences, and needs therefore leading to pleasure derived from the relationship -in a busy life, friends enhance self-esteem and psychological well-being through affirmation, acceptance, autonomy support, and support in times of stress -make life more interesting... able to expand social opportunities, access knowledge and different points of view -extended pattern...male friends get together to "do something" (activities/bro out) and female friends who get together to "just talk" (chat/gossip) -may encounter loneliness in EA
personal fable
-an adolescent's certainty that others are observing and thinking about them, teenagers develop an inflated opinion of their own importance- a feeling that they are special and unique -i.e. — (special love) "You'll never understand! You don't know what it's like to be in love!" -thinking another peer is observing/watching you in class
imaginary audience
-an adolescents belief that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern -leads to sensitivity to criticism, extreme self-consciousness -magnifying/inspecting every detail of appearance
dream
-an image of themselves in the adult world that drives their decision making... -Men: emphasized achievement in a career -Women: had "split dreams," involving marriage & career
companionate love
-an intimate, non-passionate type of love that is stronger than friendship because of the element of long-term commitment -often found in marriages in which the passion has gone out of the relationship but a deep affection and commitment remain
(memory) strategies
-become more effective, improving storage, representation, and retrieval of information -better at studying, remembering challenging information
attention
-becomes more selective -focused on relevant info, better adapted to changing task demands
balances autonomy with monitoring as needed
-best results involves authoritative parenting -extra challenging during adolescence (from parent)
from cliques to dating
-boys' and girls' cliques come together -mixed-sex cliques hang out -several couples form and do things together -individual couples
nutrition in adolescence
-calorie needs increase: rapid body growth leads to dramatic increase in nutritional requirements... -yet poor food choices common like less fruits, vegetables, milk, breakfast/no breakfast but more soda, fast food
fatuous love
-can be exemplified by a whirlwind courtship and marriage in which a commitment is motivated largely by passion without the stabilizing influence of intimacy -a relationship, however, whereby an individual party agrees to sexual favors purely out of commitment issues, or is pressured/forced into sexual acts does not comprise fatuous love, and instead tends more to empty love
empty love
-characterized by commitment without intimacy or passion -sometimes, a stronger love deteriorates into empty love -cultures in which arranged marriages are common, relationships often begin as empty love and develop into one of the other forms with the passing of time
attachment history
-childhood attachment: Internal Working Model (set of expectations about attachment figures - serves as a guide for close relationships throughout life) -adult romantic relationship: adult relationships
secure attachment
-childhood attachment: comfortable with intimacy; unafraid of abandonment -adult romantic relationships: trust, happiness, friendship
resistant attachment
-childhood attachment: seek quick love, complete merging -adult romantic attachment: jealousy, desperation, emotional highs and lows
avoidant attachment
-childhood attachment: stress independent, mistrust, anxiety about closeness -adult romantic attachment: jealousy, emotional distance, little physical pleasure
postformal thought (Piaget)
-cognitive development beyond Piaget's formal operational stage -recognized that important advances in thinking follow the attainment of formal operations -transition: adolescents prefer steady, consistent perspective on the world so increasingly abstract thought is still challenging -we arrive to more complex, abstraction thought processes and modes rationing thinking, which brings forth new theories in cognition and thought...
intimacy
-commitment -giving up some independence -identity -affects friendships, parenting, work -prepares for next stage
Erikson's Theory: Identity vs Identity / role confusion
-conflict of adolescence... -if young people's earlier conflicts were resolved negatively or if society limits their choices to ones that do not match their abilities and desires, they may appear shallow, directionless, and unprepared for the challenges of adulthood
causes and factors in divorce
-divorce rates have stabilized since mid-80's due to (1) rising age in marriage - linked to greater financial stability and marital satisfaction (2) increase in cohabitation -factors: ineffective problem solving and maladaptive communication -leading increasingly separate lives (various reasons) -background factors that increase rate of divorce: infidelity, money issues, substance abuse, more successful female, culture, younger when married, previously divorced
peer conformity
-dress, grooming, social activities -pro-adult behavior (sex and drinking, etc.) -misconduct (rises in early adolescence, but low overall) -more conformity in early adolescence -authoritative parenting helps resist pressures
identity confusion
-earlier psychosocial conflicts not resolved -restricted exploration in adolescence -society restricts choices -unprepared for stages of adulthood
commitment to relativistic thinking
-eventually, the most mature individuals (after college age) progress to... -instead of choosing between opposing views, they try to formulate a more personally satisfying perspective that synthesizes contradictions -i.e. - when considering which of two theories studied in a college course is better, the individual moves beyond the stance that everything is a matter of opinion and generates their own rational criteria to evaluate these opinions, thereby revising their internal belief system -a more sophistication mode of thinking
characteristics of adolescent friendships
-fewer "best friends" - become more selective -stress intimacy, loyalty are important values (closeness, trust, self-disclosure emerge) -friends are similar or grow more similar
trends in having children
-fewer married couples have children or have less children -mothers' careers often the cause or further education after college -couples postponing childbearing until late 20's/early 30's -smaller numbers of children -average of 2 or fewer (why?) ...cost of living, changes in support
the college experience
-formative, influential "developmental testing ground" -exposure to new ideas, beliefs, demands leads to cognitive growth, new thinking patterns (relativistic thinking, increased self-understanding, increased interest, moral development, diversity, culture) -depends on participation in campus life and academics -2 year vs. 4 year-no difference in abilities -residence life - those who live on campus tend to be more successful socially
school transitions often prove to be tremendously difficult and uncertain times for adolescents
-grades decline with each transition -higher standards make school more difficult -less supportive teaching-learning environment -competition increases in middle school -lower self esteem (girls usually have lower self-esteem than boys) -middle school transition worse than high school
William Perry
-helped expand research on development of epistemic cognition -epistemic means "of or about knowledge"
Piaget's Theory of Moral Development
-heteronomous morality-childhood -autonomous morality-adolescence onward
identity achievement
-high level of commitment and high level of exploration -knows who they are based on their own exploration -"I'm going to be a teacher because I like working with kids and feel great about it!"
identity foreclosure
-high level of commitment and low level of exploration -make a decision based on other in their environment (authority figures) -"Mom and dad are both doctors, so I'm going to be a doctor."
inhibition
-improvement of irrelevant stimuli and inappropriate responses to situations -supports gains in attention & reasoning
relativistic thinking
-in contrast to younger students, older students have moved toward... -viewing all knowledge as embedded in a framework of thought. Aware of a diversity of opinions on many topics, they gave up the possibility of absolute truth in favor of multiple truths, each relative to its context -this results in more flexible and tolerant thinking -basic gist: there is no all-encompassing answer... ideas and thoughts are/become more individualized and subjective relative to one's beliefs or experiences, leading to multiple truths
gender intensification
-increased gender stereotyping of attitudes and behavior and movement toward a more traditional gender identity -more relevant to girls b/c more concern/stronger focus about one's everyday actions consistent with their gender roles -biological, social, cognitive factors (imaginary audience, puberty, dating) -more in early adolescence, declines mid to late adolescence
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Understanding: postconventional level
-individuals in this level move beyond unquestioning support for their own society's rules and laws. they define morality in terms of abstract principles and values that apply to all situations and societies. -using flexible or abstract thinking and applying it to concrete situations
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
-influenced by Piaget's theory of moral development — sought a more comprehensive cognitive-developmental theory of moral understanding -used clinical interviewing with sample of 10-16-year-old boys with hypothetical moral dilemmas — or stories involving a conflict between two moral values -in these moral dilemmas- he asked what the main actor should do and why -most famous moral dilemma — "Heinz Dilemma"
traditional marriages
-involve clear division of roles... -woman: cares for husband, children, home (caregiver/homemaker) -man: head of household, economic support -while traditional marriages still exist in Western nations today, egalitarian marriages have become more prevalent with time
involvement in extracurricular activities leads to
-less antisocial behavior -improved family relationships -higher achievement later in life -academic performance -social skills/peer acceptance -self-esteem and confidence
cerebral cortex growth and expansion occur
-linkages between cerebral hemispheres through corpus callosum -linkages between the prefrontal cortex and other areas in cerebral cortex/inner brain (i.e.- amygdala) -growth and expansion lead to myelination; rapid communication attained
isolation
-lonely or self-absorbed -hesitant to form close ties -fears identity loss -threatened by closeness
moratorium
-low level of commitment and high level of exploration -explores lots of areas, but can't figure out what to focus on -"I can't decide what major to be, so I'm going to keep changing it. Hopefully, I'll find something someday"
identity diffusion
-low level of commitment and low level of exploration -doesn't have motivation to discover identity -lack clear direction -not committed to values/goals, won't try to reach them
Heinz Dilemma
-most famous dilemma -follows sample of participants in longitudinal study over 20 years to see how their morality was influenced by cognitive development
Transition to Early Adulthood (17-22)
-most people constructed a Dream -young adults also formed a relationship with a Mentor -age 30 transition occurs - reevaluation of life structure
adolescent moodiness
-negative moods linked to greater number of negative life events, less to hormone levels -mood swings strongly related to daily events/situational changes -more possibilities for mental illness
singlehood
-not living with an intimate partner -has increased in recent years, especially among young adults -more prevalent among women
body image
-one's conception of and attitude toward their physical appearance -girls: most want to be thinner, smaller -boys: most want to be bigger
cross-linkage theory of aging
-over time, protein fibers that make up the body's connective tissue form bonds, or links, with one another. When these normally separate fibers cross-link, tissue becomes less elastic, leading to many negative outcomes -i.e. — loss of flexibility in skin & other organs, clogging of arteries, damage to kidneys, etc.
prefrontal cortex gradually becomes a more effective "executive"
-overseeing/managing integrated functions of various areas, yielding more complex, flexible and adaptive thinking and behavior -gains in diverse cognitive skills such as processing speed and executive function
selecting a mate
-partners generally meet in places where they are likely to find people their own age, level of education, ethnicity, and religion -most select partners who are similar - share attitudes, have similar personalities, intelligence, physical attractiveness, educational plans, even height -gender differences on importance of certain characteristics (women look for: intelligence, ambition, financials, morals and men look for: attractiveness, domestic skills)
egalitarian marriages
-partners relate as equals -share power & authority -both try to balance attention to jobs, children, home, and their relationship -this marriage is expected among well-educated, career-oriented women -couples in this marriage plan in advance how they will coordinate work and family roles
early adulthood has changed...
-person's genetic makeup (lifestyle) -living environment -historical period/time (...is it better to be alive now?)
factors influencing vocational (career) choice
-personality -family influences -teachers -gender stereotypes -access to vocational information
puberty
-physical transition to adulthood -within a few years -the body of a school-age child is transformed into a full-grown adult
infatuated love
-purely passion based -romantic relationships often start out as infatuated love and become romantic love as intimacy develops over time -however, without developing intimacy or commitment, infatuated love may disappear suddenly
early adults
-realize that world is sometimes vague and contradictory, but have become better adapted to handle particular/ challenging circumstances -i.e. - having a baby is both a happy/stressful time, college can be both a pleasurable social experience/very challenging/stressful time
epistemic cognition
-refers to our reflections on how we arrived at facts, beliefs, and ideas -When mature, rational thinkers reach conclusions that differ from others conclusions, they consider the justifiability of their conclusions -When they cannot justify their approach, they revise it and seek a more adequate route to acquiring knowledge
parent-child relationships during adolescence
-rise in conflict -most conflict is mild especially with authoritative parents
heteronomous morality-childhood
-rules are by authority → we must follow them -judge wrongness by outcomes, not intentions — even if intentions were good, if outcome was bad, than idea behind what the person did was bad -ages 5-10
autonomous morality-adolescence onward
-rules are social -standard of ideal reciprocity (golden rule) — treat others how you would like to be treated -judge on outcomes and intentions -adolescence >>>
new form of egocentrism arises
-self-consciousness and self-focusing -adolescents again have difficulty distinguishing their own and others' perspectives
crowd
-several cliques combined, often sharing similar values -larger - several cliques -membership based on reputation, stereotype -Jocks, Nerds, Burnouts, etc.
consummate love
-the complete form of love, representing an ideal relationship -of the seven varieties of love, consummate love is theorized to be love associated with the "perfect couple" -according to Sternberg, such couples will continue to have great sex fifteen years or more into the relationship, they can not imagine themselves happy over the long-term with anyone else, they overcome their few difficulties gracefully, and each delight in the relationship with one other
mentor
-who facilitated realization of their dream (senior colleague at work, experienced friend, relative) -Men: focus on high status careers acquiring prof. skills, values, credentials -Women: career development extends into early age
dualistic thinking
-younger students believed knowledge consisted of (2) separate units... -where they divided information, values, and authority into right and wrong, good and bad, we and they -one college freshman's perspective: "When I went to my first lecture, what the man said was just like God's word. I believe everything he said because he is a professor and this is a respected position" -these thinkers, who believe knowledge is certain and teachers have that knowledge, approach learning by accepting what they are given
emerging adulthood
A new transitional period of development, extending from late teens to the mid-to late twenties, during which young people have left adolescence but have not yet assumed adult responsibilities. Rather, they continue to explore alternatives in education, work, personal beliefs and values, and love.
poker chipp study
In contrast, adolescents analyzed the logic of the statements. They understood that the "either-or" statement is always true and the "and" statement is always false, regardless of the poker chips color.
social clock
age-graded expectations for major life events, such as beginning a first job, getting married, birth of first child, buying a home, and retiring -following this leads to confidence, contributes to social stability
anorexia nervosa
an eating d/o in which young people, mainly females, starve themselves due to compulsive fear of getting fat & extremely distorted body image
Daniel Levinson
author of books on adult development depicted adult development as a sequence of qualitatively distinct eras that coincided with Erikson's stages which were separated by transitions
romantic love
bonds individuals emotionally through intimacy and physically through passionate arousal
-achievement, status -get together for activities
boys look for...in adolescent friendships
-defining who you are -what you value -the directions you choose to pursue in life
constructing an identity involves:
bulimia nervosa
eating d/o in which individuals, mainly females, engage in strict dieting & excessive exercise accompanied by binge eating, often followed by deliberate vomiting and purging with laxatives
-personality -peers -schools -community -larger contexts (history, culture)
factors that affect identity development
estrogen
females release large amounts of this that leads to maturation of sex organs, body to take on feminine proportions, fat accumulation and contributes to regulation of menstrual cycle
biological aging or senescence
genetically influenced declines in the functioning of organs and systems
-emotional closeness -share communal concerns -self-disclosure
girls look for...in adolescent friendships
compassionate love
gradually, passion declines in favor of intimacy and commitment, which form the basis for warm, trusting affection and caregiving
clique
groups of about 5-7 members who are friends and therefore usually resemble one another in family background, attitudes, and values -good friends -identified by interests, social status -"popular" and "unpopular"
Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love
identifies three components - intimacy, passion, and commitment - that shift in emphasis as romantic relationships develop
processing capacity/speed of thinking
improvement of abilities to process more difficult information and at an accelerated rate when prompted
cognitive self-regulation
improves, yielding better moment-by-moment monitoring, evaluation and redirection of thinking
knwoledge
increasing, easing strategy use (more challenging info/curriculum)
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Understanding: conventional level
individuals continue to see conforming to social rules as important, but not for reasons of self-interest. rather, they believe that actively maintaining the current social system ensures positive relationships and societal order.
early twenties
individuals reach peak strength, endurance, sensory acuteness, and immune responsiveness during...
over next two decades
individuals show noticeable declines in above areas due to biological aging
-attention -inhibition -(memory) strategies -knowledge -metacognition -cognitive self-regulation -processing capacity/speed of thinking
info processing improves drastically in adolescence...especially in the following areas
passionate love
intense sexual attraction that is very strong at the beginning of a relationship
liking/friendship love
intimate liking characterizes true friendships, in which a person feels a bondedness, a warmth, and a closeness with another but not intense passion or long-term commitment
family life cycle
is a series of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world -early adulthood: leaving home for college/after graduation, joining families in marriage, and parenthood -middle adulthood: launching children - Empty Nest -late adulthood: retirement and losing spouse
expertise
it is the acquisition of extensive knowledge in a field -affects information processing -having this means remembering and reasoning more quickly and effectively plus recalling deeper, more abstract thoughts -takes many years to develop
androgen
males release large amounts of this, specifically testosterone, that leads to muscle growth, body and facial hair, other male sex characteristics
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Understanding: preconventional level
morality is externally controlled. children accept the rules of authority figures and judge actions by their consequences. behaviors that result in punishment are viewed as bad, those that lead to rewards as good.
continuum of dating
more formal relationships emerge based on various characteristics
inhibition, planning, and future orientation still not fully mature
prefrontal cortex still developing so teeangers' performance on executive function tasks requiring...
cohabitation
refers to the lifestyle of unmarried couples who have a sexually intimate relationship and who share a residence
Erikson's psychological conflict of early adulthood
reflected in the young person's thoughts and feelings about making a permanent commitment to an intimate partner...
adolescents react more strongly to stressful events/ experience more pleasurable stimuli more intensity
self-regulation difficulties due to change in brain's emotional/social network and neurons become more responsive to excitatory neurotransmitters during puberty which results in...
-achieve less in school -suffer from anxiety/depressed mood -engage in high-risk behavior
sleep deprived adolescents display declines in executive functions which makes them more likely to...
late adolescence
teens are ready for/more prepared for greater psychological intimacy, they seek dating partners who offer personal compatibility, companionship, affection, and social support
early adolescence
teens mention recreation and achieving peer status as reasons for dating (shallow characteristics)
cognitive-affective complexity
the awareness if conflicting positive and negative feelings and coordination of them into a complex, organized structure
commitment
the cognitive component, leading partners to decide that they are in love and to maintain that love
passion
the desire for sexual activity and romance, is the physical/psychological arousal component
intimacy
the emotional component, involves warm, tender communication, expressions of concern about the others well-being, and a desire for a partner to reciprocate
growth spurt
the first outward sign of puberty is the rapid gain in height and weight
-hypothetico-deductive reasoning -propositional thought
two major features of formal operational stage:
1. maturation of sexual characteristics 2. overall body growth
two types of pubertal changes:
loneliness
unhappiness resulting from a gap between the social relationships we currently have and those we desire
