1. 1 Cognitive Transitions Chapter 2

2. 2 Changes in Cognition (Thinking) Main advantages over child’s thought (1) Thinking of possibilities (2) Thinking about abstracts (3) Thinking about the process of thinking (4) Thinking in multidimensional terms (5) Seeing knowledge as relative

3. 3 Thinking about Possibilities  Children’s thinking based on concrete/observable events; Adolescents can now think of what “might be” – Example: Ways in which their lives might be affected by different career choices – Can now move easily between the specific and the abstract to generate alternative possibilities – Development of deductive reasoning” “If-then” thinking (hypothetical thinking) Major intellectual accomplishment

4. 4 Thinking about Abstract Concepts –Ability to comprehend higher-order abstract logic inherent in puns, proverbs, metaphors, and analogies –The growth of social thinking (social cognition) during adolescence is directly related to the young person’s improving ability to think abstractly Underlies interest in topics like interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy, religion, morality

5. 5 Metacognition: Thinking about Thinking Monitoring one’s own cognitive activity during the process of thinking Increased introspection –thinking about our own emotions Increased self-consciousness –Thinking about others thinking of us Increased intellectualization –Thinking about our own thoughts

6. 6 Metacognition may result in problems Adolescent egocentrism –Extreme self-absorptions Imaginary audience –Behavior is the focus of other’s concern Personal fable – Experiences are unique “That won’t happen to me…”

7. 7 Thinking in Multiple Dimensions –Can now see things in complicated ways rather than one aspect at a time –More sophisticated understanding of probability –Ability to understand when someone is being sarcastic –Can understand double-entendres

8. 8 Adolescent Relativism –Ability to see things as relative rather than as absolute (children see things in absolute terms: either black or white) –Skepticism becomes common (begin to question EVERYTHING!) –Everything may seem uncertain –No knowledge seems completely reliable

9. 9 Theoretical Perspectives on Adolescent Thinking Piaget Information Processing New Directions

10. 10 Piagetian View of Adolescent Thinking SENSORIMOTOR STAGE BIRTH TO TWO YEARS PREOPERATIONAL 2 TO 6 YEARS CONCRETE OPERATONAL 6 TO 11 YEARS FORMAL OPERATIONS 11 + YEARS

11. 11 Piagetian View of Adolescent Thinking Piagetian View of Adolescent Thinking Cognitive-developmental view –Interaction between biological change and environmental stimulation Leads to intellectual growth Each stage is characterized by a particular type of thought

12. 12 Piagetian View of Adolescent Thinking Propositional logic –Based on formal principles of logic: organize range of possibilities and likelihood of outcomes –Applies to abstract, complicated thinking as well as to concrete, literal thinking Competence-performance distinction –A large gap exists between what can be done and what is done in daily life

13. 13 Information-Processing View of Adolescent Thinking Question of Interest –What is it about the ways that adolescents think about things that make them better problem solvers than children? Techniques used to write computer programs can help understand human reasoning processes (ie, breaking down complicated tasks into series of logic trees: generate a hierarchical logic map) Both different types of strategies & differences in efficiency of strategies contribute to individual differences in cognitive task performance

14. 14 Areas of improvement during adolescence The more componential approach divides cognitive processing into its basic components: (1) Selective attention and divided attention (2) Working memory and long term memory (3) Processing speed (4) Organization (5) Metacognition **Advanced thinking result of better strategies for input, storage, manipulation, & use of info

15. 15 New Directions for Theories about Adolescent Thinking Robbie Case’s Integration –Integrates findings on improvements in adolescents’ information-processing abilities within a cognitive-developmental framework similar to Piaget’s –Automatization Basic elements of information processing become more automatic (ex: driving) Frees up cognitive resources for solving more complex processes in parallel

16. 16 New Directions for Theories about Adolescent Thinking Paul Klaczynski –Why are individuals' behaviors so often illogical despite the cognitive skills they have developed? –Two different cognitive systems at work Analytic system using deductive reasoning Intuitive system using heuristics and gut feelings

17. 17 Next time… The Adolescent Brain Individual differences in IQ in Adolescence Adolescent Thinking in Context

18. 18 The Adolescent Brain Research is conducted using fMRI and PET scans Brain maturation in adolescence is linked to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development during this period (Keating, 2004)

19. 19 Among the most important brain changes to take place at adolescence are those in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system.

20. 20 The Adolescent Brain Synaptic "pruning” (unnecessary neurons) and myelination of the prefrontal cortex improves the efficiency of information processing In the limbic system, changes in levels of certain neurotransmitters, like dopamine, affect emotional experiences, stress & reward sensitivity –Increased vulnerability to substance use –Stimulates risk-taking behaviors

21. 21 Maturation of the Prefrontal Cortex Full Maturation: Sometime between adolescence and early adulthood Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex –Important for planning ahead Ventromedial prefrontal cortex –Important for gut-level, intuitive decision making Orbitofrontal cortex –Evaluating risks & rewards

22. 22 Maturation of the Prefrontal Cortex Adolescents whose prefrontal cortical development is less mature than normal are more likely to have conduct problems.

23. 23 Implications of the Timing of Brain Maturation Limbic system matures at puberty –Seek novelty, reward, stimulation Prefrontal cortex matures several years later Time gap may explain why adolescence is a period of heightened experimentation with risk…AHA!

24. 24 Intellectual Abilities that Decline in Adolescence Brain regions involved in language acquisition grow rapidly in preadolescence These regions stop growing at puberty More difficult to learn a new language as a teen than as a child

25. 25 Individual Differences in Intelligence in Adolescence …know: Measurement of IQ – Intelligence quotient – First test developed in 1905 – Most widely used – and misused- psychological instrument Cohort – A group of people born during the same historical era

26. 26 Individual Differences in Intelligence in Adolescence…know: Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory –Componential intelligence The methods people use to process and analyze information –Experiential intelligence How people approach new and unfamiliar tasks –Contextual intelligence An individual's intelligence as it relates to their environment/sociocultural context

27. 27 Individual Differences in Intelligence in Adolescence…know: Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner proposes that there is not a single “Intelligence," rather that there are seven: –Visual / Spatial Intelligence –Musical Intelligence –Verbal Intelligence –Logical/Mathematical Intelligence –Interpersonal Intelligence –Intrapersonal Intelligence –Bodily / Kinesthetic Intelligence –Most recently added “Naturalist”

28. 28 Test Performance in Adolescence…know: Intelligence test scores become increasingly stable during childhood (age 6 or 7) and are remarkably stable during adolescence. The SAT predicts one’s likelihood of success in college, but only as one of many useful predictive factors

29. 29 Culture and Intelligence Vygotsky emphasized context in which intellectual development occurs Zone of Proximal Development Zone of Proximal Development –challenging tasks that can be completed with help from another Scaffolding – structuring the learning situation so that it is within the reach of the student

30. 30 Culture and Intelligence Culture-fair tests –Intelligence tests that attempt to reduce sources of ethnic or cultural bias –Based less on verbal skills –Oriented toward performance tasks

31. 31 Adolescent Thinking in Context Changes in Social Cognition –Adolescents’ conceptions of interpersonal relationships are more mature: their understanding of human behavior is more advanced their ideas about social institutions and organizations are more complex their ability to figure out what other people think is far more accurate.

32. 32 Adolescent Thinking in Context Studies of social cognition fall into three categories (1) Impression formation (2) Social perspective taking (3) Conceptions of morality and social conventions

33. 33 Adolescent Thinking in Context Adolescent Risk-Taking –Risk-taking is more common among males than females –This gender gap has been narrowing over time –Young people behave in risky ways because of a variety of emotional and social factors influencing their judgment Can you think of any?

34. 34 Adolescent Thinking in Context Behavioral decision theory –Decision making is rational and individuals try to maximize benefits of alternative courses of action and minimize costs Personal fable about invulnerability –Early adolescents less likely than young adults to feel invulnerable –Adolescents vary more than adults in interpreting words describing risk

35. 35 Adolescent Thinking in the Classroom American youth have difficulty in regard to critical thinking Schools can and should teach adolescents ways of focusing attention, improving short- and long-term memory, organizing information, and monitoring thought processes