Lecture 2 - Adolescence

Adolescence (13-20s) - phase of life events from child to dependent adult Why teens and young adults engage in risky/dangerous behavior: due to incomplete development of the frontal cortex Puberty: physical development as primary and secondary sex characteristics ● Pubertal Timing: age of development based on comparison of reference group from genetic or environmental factors ○ Early: problem of bad behaviors, substance abuse, negative health and depressive symptoms in women. Mixed findings in males ○ Shroud and Davila Study: girls who had preexisting problem behaviors with early puberty increased, but girls who didn’t have this with early, didn’t have any effect. ■ Early amplifies present problems, they don’t create problems ■ Early/on-time had similar levels of romantic experiences which indicate higher depressive symptoms than late ■ No significant relationship of depressive symptoms of puberty timing ■ Provides info on limitations, prone to risk behaviors, influences ● Pubertal Status: level of development based on timing of others Egocentric Thought: falls to divide between what others are thinking versus own thoughts, inability to understand others have their own separate view/opinion that isn’t the same Personal Fable: thinking of own thoughts/feelings to convince they are special or that they won’t get into accidents Imaginary Audience: thinks that everyone is watching them ● 1994 Ryan and Kuczkowski Study: high on scale believes that the audience will look and thinks they are judging someone negatively, which causes them to hold back in fear of being judged and social anxiety and lower self-esteem ○ immense self-consciousness as thinking others are judging them ○ Abiding: permanent characteristics, what makes somebody unique ○ transient: how one looks/dresses, to be changing (superficial, external) ○ Gender differences: females had greater imaginary audience than males due to transient factors due to woman have a greater societal pressure ■ Questions on how societal standards, social media, popularity would cause present day results would be Moral Development: Kohlberg ● Preconventional Morality: based on consequences due to rewards ○ Ex. Speeding without getting a ticket ○ Ex. Stealing is bad if get caught and in trouble ● Conventional Morality: based on rules of society ○ Ex. No liter sign so child tells parent not to liter ○ Ex. Stealing is bad as it's against the law ● Postconventional Morality: based on experiences and judgement on person without looking at consequences or rules ○ About 1/5 of adult population is at this level ○ Ex. Pulling lifeline on bedbound patient ○ Ex. Stealing is bad but my starving family needs food from a store, but is bad when stealing food from one who needs it ● Adolescences and adults fall into any of these categories any time, not climbing up ● This looks at the male western culture POV, while other cultures have other values Psychosocial Development: Erik Erikson ● Identity vs. Role Confusion: crisis that adolescents must have a consistent sense of self to form one’s identity, can be from trying out new things/roles in society to find out what is true to self ○ Ex. Rule breaker in class, class clown, bully, good academics, athlete, loner ○ Peer pressure causes adolescences the want to fit in ● Parent vs teen conflict of rebellion for independence over small things ex. Clothes