1. Chapter 15: Cognitive Processes in Adolescents
15.1 Cognition
15.2 Reasoning About Moral Issues
15.3 The World of Work

2. 15.1 Cognition Piaget’s Stage of Formal Operational Reasoning
Information Processing During Adolescence

3. Piaget’s Stage of Formal Operational Reasoning
Begins at about 11 and continues through adulthood
Children now able to think hypothetically and abstractly
Can use deductive reasoning
Beliefs can interfere with reasoning
15.1 Cognition

4. Ratings of Validity of Studies

5. Information Processing During Adolescence
Capacity of working memory and speed of processing reach adult levels
Acquire adultlike levels of knowledge and understanding in many areas
Adolescents are quite skilled at choosing strategies and monitoring effectiveness
15.1 Cognition

6. 15.2 Reasoning About Moral Issues
Kohlberg’s Theory
Beyond Kohlberg’s Theory: Gilligan’s Ethic of Caring
Promoting Moral Reasoning

7. Kohlberg’s Theory
3 levels of moral reasoning beginning with obedience to authority and ending with decisions based on moral principles
Support for the theory: people progress through the stages in sequence and moral reasoning is linked to moral behavior
Cross-cultural evidence is inconsistent
15.2 Reasoning About Moral Issues

8. Beyond Kohlberg’s Theory: Gilligan’s Ethic of Caring
Gilligan: caring is important than justice and becomes more sophisticated
Justice and care both serve as a basis for moral reasoning depending on the nature of the moral problem
15.2 Reasoning About Moral Issues

9. Promoting Moral Reasoning
Discussions about moral issues and exposure to higher levels of reasoning
Just Communities foster discussion and provide exposure to higher levels of reasoning
15.2 Reasoning About Moral Issues

10. 15.3 The World of Work
Career Development
Part-Time Employment

11. Career Development
Super’s theory: identity is primary force in career choice
Teens go through stages of crystallization, specification, and implementation when choosing a career
Holland’s theory: 6 personality types are basis for finding fulfilling jobs or careers
15.3 The World of Work

12. Part-Time Employment Majority of high school seniors work part-time
Fairly recent development (since 1970s and unique to U.S.)
Negative effects: school performance suffers, mental health and behavioral problems, and misleading affluence
15.3 The World of Work