Social and Personality Development in Adolescence Chapter 16

Moral Development in Girls Moral Development in Girls Carol Gilligan’s theory of moral development Carol Gilligan suggests that the way boys and girls are raised in our own society leads to differences in moral reasoning. Kohlberg's theory is inadequate and places girls' moral reasoning at a lower level than boys'. Boys view morality primarily in terms of justice and fairness. Girls see morality in terms of responsibility and compassion toward individuals and a willingness to sacrifice for relationships.

Carol Gilligan Born: 1937- New York Current: Professor of Gender Studies, Harvard University Education Ph.D., Harvard University Achieve ments: Challenged Lawrence Kohlberg's theories of moral development on the basis of gender bias; Pioneer in the research on moral development of women; One of Time Magazine's 25 most influential people of 1996.

 Gilligan sees morality in girls developing in 3 stages. Orientation toward individual survival - where females concentrate on what is practical and best for them. Goodness as self-sacrifice - where females think they must sacrifice their own wishes to what others want. Morality of nonviolence - women come to see hurting anyone as immoral, including themselves. ~The highest levels of morality are represented by compassionate concern for the welfare of others

Criticisms of Gilligan’s theory Theory is based on moral decisions in an actual real life situation. Findings may not apply in ALL situations. Data was collected on women ONLY. Gilligan also never published her data in peer-reviewed journals.

Identity Self-concept: characterizing the self (understanding who you are –warts & all) Self-esteem: evaluating the self Knowing who you are and liking who you are = two different things

Identity Formation Erikson’s Identity vs. Identity Confusion – the period during which teenagers seek to determine what is unique and distinctive about themselves Adolescents increasingly rely on their friends and peers as sources of information about their identity. Psychological moratorium – a period during which adolescents take time off from the upcoming responsibilities of adulthood and explore various roles and possibilities

Identity Development Marcia’s Approach: Updating Erikson Identity achievement – the status of adolescents who commit to a particular identity following a period of crisis, during which they consider various alternatives Identity foreclosure – the status of adolescents who prematurely commit to an identity without adequately exploring alternatives; accepting other’s decisions about what’s best for them Moratorium – the status of adolescents who may have explored various identity alternatives to some degrees but have not yet committed themselves Identity diffusion – the status of adolescents who neither explore nor commit to consider various identity alternatives; flighty, shifting from one thing to the next

Depression and Suicide 20–35% of boys and 25–40% of girls experience occasional episodes of depression during adolescence 3% experience major depression One teenage suicide occurs every 90 minutes for an annual rate of 12.2 suicides per 100,000 adolescents. Cluster suicide – a situation in which one suicide leads to attempts by others to kill themselves

Common Adolescent Stressors & Difficulties

Relationships: Family and Friends Autonomy – having independence and a sense of control over one’s life Generation gap – a deep divide between parents and adolescents in attitudes, values, aspirations, and worldviews The number one deterrent from adolescent drug use is having dinner with their families around the table!

Parental Conflict in Adolescence Parents and teens may hold similar attitudes about social and political issues, but often hold different views on matters of personal taste (music preferences, style of dress) Teens from collectivist cultures tend to have fewer conflicts with parents than teens from individualist cultures do.

Relationships with Peers Reference group – any group of people with whom one compares oneself Cliques – groups of 2 to 12 people whose members have frequent social interactions with one another Crowds – larger groups than cliques, composed of individuals who share particular characteristics but who may not interact with one another (“jocks”) Sex cleavage – sex segregation in which boys interact primarily with boys and girls primarily with girls

The Social World Of Adolescence Popularity is related to differences in: status, behavior and adjustment

Popularity and Rejection Controversial adolescents – teenagers who are liked by some peers and disliked by others Rejected adolescents – teenagers who are uniformly disliked and whose peers may react to them in an obviously negative manner Neglected adolescents – teenagers who are neither liked nor disliked; forgotten students

Peer pressure – the influence of one’s peers to conform to their behavior and attitudes Undersocialized delinquents – adolescents who are raised with little discipline or with harsh, uncaring parental supervision Socialized delinquents – adolescents who know and subscribe to the norms of society and who are fairly normal psychologically

Dating and Sexual Behavior Dating -a way to establish intimacy with others; can also provide entertainment and prestige Masturbation -by age 15yrs, 80% of boys and 20% of girls report they have engaged in solitary, sexual self-stimulation Sexual intercourse -begins for about 50% of all adolescents in the 15– 18yrs age range. At least 80% of adolescents have sex before the age of 20yrs. Heterosexuality – sexual attraction & behavior directed to the opposite sex Homosexuality – sexual attraction & behavior directed to members of the same sex Bisexuality –sexual attraction & behavior directed to members of both sexes

Teenage Pregnancy