Adolescence Chapter 8 DEP 2004 Human Development Across the Lifespan

Guiding Questions How do theorists view adolescents’ thought and understanding? How do these views inform our ideas about adolescents’ development of the self? How do these views inform our ideas about adolescents’ moral reasoning abilities?

Information Processing Adolescents improve on attention tasks – Selective attention—focus on relevant information – Divided attention—two things at once but learning is still detrimentally effected Memory also improves – Use of memory strategies (mnemonic devices) – Experience and knowledge is enhancing

Advances in Adolescence from an Information Processing Perspective Working Memory and Processing Speed – Have adult-like working memory and processing speed, enables them to process information efficiently Content Knowledge, Strategies, and Metacognitive Skill – Greater knowledge of the work facilitates understanding and memory of new experiences – Better able to identify task-appropriate strategies and monitor effectiveness of those strategies Problem Solving and Reasoning – Solve problems analytically by relying on math or logic, able to detect weaknesses in scientific evidence and logical arguments

Vgotsky’s Contribution Lev Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development Scaffolding Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

Piaget’s Contribution Formal operations – Hypothetical Deductive reasoning – Ex: Pendulum problem

Social Cognition: Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable Adolescent Egocentrism has two aspects – Imaginary audience Leads to feeling of self-consciousness – Personal fable Can lead to anguish and high risk behavior

Piaget’s Formal Operations Critiques Individual differences – Not seen in every instance of teen life – Adolescents with math and science exhibit it more Cultural differences – Traditional Piagetian tasks show little success – Success if task relevant to culture

The Self and the Social Environment in Adolescence Adolescence thought to be a time of storm and stress Experience Sampling Method (ESM) has shown that – In U.S. it is a time of emotional volatility – Self-conscious, embarrassed, moody, lonely, and nervous

The Self and the Social Environment in Adolescence Source of distress a combination of cognitive and environmental factors Transitions coupled with how events are interpreted contribute to volatility

The Self and the Social Environment in Adolescence Adolescent self—conceptions become complex Composed of: – Actual self—true self conception – Possible self—what you could become Ideal self—would like to be Feared self—possible to become but fears becoming it – False self—what is shown to others

The Self and the Social Environment in Adolescence Discrepancy between actual self and ideal self can lead to feelings of failure and depression Self-esteem tends to fluctuate during adolescence

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development  Created narratives of moral dilemmas and studied the reasoning process that people underwent when considering the problem  All possible choices have both positive and negative consequences  Classic (1969) story of Heinz and his dying wife  Presented narratives to people of different ages  Developed stages of moral reasoning to reflect qualitative changes at different stages

Cultural Beliefs Moral Development Classified moral reasoning into three levels composed of two stages each – Preconvention—likelihood of rewards and punishments – Conventional—value conforming to moral others – Post conventional—objective principles of right and wrong

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Preconventional Stage 1- Punishment and obedience Stage 2- Individualism and purpose Conventional Stage 3- Interpersonal Concordance Stage 4- Social Systems Postconventional Stage 5- Community Rights Stage 6- Universal Ethics

Promoting Moral Reasoning Factors that can promote more sophisticated moral reasoning: – Noticing one’s current thinking is inadequate – Observing others reasoning at a more advanced levels – Discuss moral issues with peers, teachers, parents – Involvement in a religious community that connects adolescents to a network of caring peers and adults – Not all people achieve the highest stages of moral reasoning

Issues with Kohlberg’s Theory Kohlberg proposed a universal theory of moral development. It may be more context-specific. His focus was on the structure of moral reasoning. Kohlberg’s theory is very Western and reflects Judeo-Christian values not shared in all cultures, leading to different responses to moral dilemmas.

Cultural Beliefs Moral Development Alternate view of moral reasoning focuses on the individual’s worldview World view provides basis for: – Moral reasoning—explaining right or wrong – Moral evaluations—outcome of moral reasoning – Moral behaviors—actions that reinforce world view