Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Lecture 16

C6035 Human Development

Adolescent Cognition Piaget’s Theory: Adolescent was in formal

operational stage of cognition where thought is more abstract & adolescents are no longer limited to actual, concrete experiences as anchors for thought

They can now conjure up make-believe situations & events that are hypothetical possibilities & then try to reason logically about them

In this stage: adolescent has ability to develop hypotheses, or best guesses to solve problems as in algebraic equation

They systematically deduce, or conclude best path to follow in solving equation

Challenge to Piaget’s formal Operational Stage There is much more individual variation

than what he envisioned Indeed, it is estimated than only 1 out of

3 young adolescents is a formal operational thinker, and many American adults never become such thinkers

Adolescent Egocentrism Heightened self-consciousness of adolescents

which is reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they are & in their sense of personal uniqueness

David Elkind proposes two types of social thinking:

imaginary audience: a belief that they are ‘on stage’ and that their every act is being viewed by an imaginary audience

personal fable: sense of uniqueness making them feel that no one can understand them

Information Processing in Adolescents Ability to process information improves in

areas of memory, decision making critical thinking & self-regulatory learning

Robert Sternberg found that solving problems, such as analogies, requires individuals to make continued comparisons between newly encoded information & previously encoded information

Adolescents probably have more storage space in short-term memory

Adolescent Cognitive CapacitiesAdolescents have: Increased speed, automaticity & capacity of information

processing More breadth of content knowledge, Increased ability to construct new combinations of

knowledge Greater range for applying or obtaining knowledge Capacity to set goals for extending knowledge Awareness of their emotional makeup to: periodically

monitor their progress, fine-tune their strategies, evaluate obstacles & make adaptations

Values Adolescents carry with them a set of values that

influences their thoughts, feelings& actions Over past two decades, they have shown an

increased concern for personal well-being & decreased concern for well-being of others & demonstrate an increasing need for self-fulfillment & self-expression

Some signs indicate that today’s students are shifting toward stronger interest in welfare of society as there has been increase in percentage of freshmen who said that they were strongly interested in participating in community action programs

Moral Education The Hidden Curriculum John Dewey recognized that schools provide

moral education through a ‘hidden curriculum’ which is conveyed by moral atmosphere that is a part of every school

Teachers serve as models of ethical or unethical behavior

Through its rules & regulations, school administration infuses school with a value system

Types of Moral Education Character Education: direct approach

involves teaching students basic moral literacy to prevent them from engaging in immoral behavior

Values clarification: helping people clarify what their lives are for & what is worth working for & where students are encouraged to define their own values & understand values of others - It differs from character education in that it does not tell students what their values should be

Religion

Many children & adolescents show an interest in religion

Religious institutions, created by adults, are designed to introduce certain beliefs & ensure that children will carry on religious tradition

Religious issues are important to adolescents 95% of 13-18 year-olds said they believe in

God Almost three-fourths reported they pray

Developmental Changes Adolescence may be an especially

important juncture for religious development because identity development becomes a central focus in their lives

Closely related to Piaget’s theory of cognition is a developmental theory providing a theoretical backdrop for understanding religious development in children & adolescents

Piaget’s theory of cognition applied to Religious Belief In preoperational intuitive religious thought

children’s religious thoughts were unsystematic & fragmented & they do not understand material in religious stories

In concrete operational thought children focus on particular details of pictures & stories of religion

In formal operational thought adolescents reveal a more abstract, hypothetical religious understanding

Religiousness and Sexuality The degree of adolescents’ participation in

religious organizations may be more important than religious affiliation as a determinant of premarital sexual attitudes & behavior

Adolescents who attend religious services frequently may hear messages about abstaining from sex

In one study, adolescents who attended church frequently & valued religion in their lives were less experienced sexually & had less permissive attitudes toward premarital sex

Fowler’s Developmental Theory James Fowler proposed a theory of religious development

in stages-focuses on motivation to discover meaning in life: Stage 1. Intuitive-projective faith (early childhood)

infants learn to trust their caregiver & invent own intuitive images of good & evil

Stage 2. Mythical-literal faith (middle and late childhood) children begin to reason in more logical-but not abstract-way

Stage 3. Synthetic-conventional faith (between childhood and adolescence) Adolescents develop formal operational thought & integrate what they have learned about religion into coherent belief system

Fowler’s Developmental Theory Stage 4. Individuating-reflexive faith (between

adolescence and adulthood) where individuals are capable of taking full responsibility for their religious beliefs

Stage 5. Conjunctive faith (middle adulthood). Fowler says that only a few adults move on to this stage, which involves being more open to paradox & opposing viewpoints

Stage 6. Universalizing faith (middle or late adulthood) involves transcending specific belief systems to achieve a sense of oneness with all being

Schools for AdolescentsControversy Surrounding Secondary Schools This century has seen schools playing prominent role in

lives of adolescents Laws excluding teens from work & mandating attendance

at school were passed by virtually every state Some experts believe that junior & senior high schools

actually contribute to alienation & delinquency & interfere with transition to adulthood

A push for back-to-basics where students are being taught fundamental skills & knowledge needed for workplace

Transition to Middle & Junior High School

Junior high schools emerged in 20s & 30s on predication that physical, cognitive & social changes characterizing early adolescence needed a separate institutional approach

Junior high school served as transition to high school which was grades 10–12

Later - middle schools were adopted which restored 9th grade to high school & brought 6th grade into transitional stage of junior or middle school

Transition to Middle & Junior High School When students make transition from

elementary to middle or junior high school - they experience top-dog phenomenon:

Circumstance of moving from top position in elementary school to lowest position in middle/junior high school

These positions are characterized by being oldest, biggest & most powerful versus youngest, smallest & least powerful

Effective Middle Schools for Young Adolescents - Joan Lipsitz

School’s ability to adapt all school practices to fit physical, cognitive & social development of its students

Emphasize importance of creating environment positive for adolescents’ social & emotional development

Smaller ‘communities’ or ‘houses’ to lessen impersonal nature of large middle schools

Lower student-to-counselor ratios Parental & community involvement in school Curriculum structure flexible in time & content Program for health and fitness

High School Dropouts Over past 40 years proportion of adolescents

who have not finished high school has steadily declined from 60% in 1940 to 5.2% in 1986

Statistic is skewed by high number of Latino youths who drop out each year - High school graduation rates for Latinos is 63% & for African-Americans it is 76%

Observed differences in dropout rates among ethnic groups were related to family background, especially socioeconomic status, lack of parental support & supervision & low parental expectations

Theories of Career Development

Three main theories describe manner in which adolescents make choices about career development:

Ginzberg’s Developmental Theory Children and adolescents go through three career-

choice stages: fantasy, tentative, and realistic Until about age 11, children are in fantasy stage with

unrealistic visions of their career Tentative stage is a transitional and occurs in the early

to mid-adolescent years Realistic stage explores, focuses & then selects a

career

Theories of Career DevelopmentSuper’s Self-Concept Theory Individuals’ self-concepts play central roles in their

career choices During adolescence individuals first construct a career

self-concept Develop ideas about work Crystallize or narrow their choices Begin to initiate behavior for some type of career Begin specific training for a career In later life - after 35 years of age - begin to

consolidate & engage in career enhancement

Theories of Career Development

Holland’s Personality-Type Theory An effort should be made to match an

individual’s career choice with his or her personality

Theory built upon assumption that everyone is a specific type & will not change nor develop into other types

Holland’s six personality types: Realistic conventional enterprising intellectual artistic social

Influences on Career Development

Increasing Educational Training ability to partake in advanced academic

and vocational training

Immediate Environment urban, rural or suburban ethnicity and race living conditions quality of schooling

Influences on Career Development

Gender some career choices are predominantly

controlled by males wide disparity in income levels between

male and female in many careers

Sociohistorical Context of Adolescent Work At the turn of 19th century-fewer than 1 out of 20

high-school-age children was in school Today - more than 9 out of every 10 adolescents

receives a high school diploma National survey of 17,000 high school students-

3 out of 4 reported some job income during average school week with income exceeding $50 per week for 41% males & 30% females

1940 only 1of 25 10th graders had part-time job Jobs for Teens: 17% fast-food restaurants, 20%

cashiers in retail stores, 10% unskilled laborers 10% clerical assistants

Work for AdolescentsBenefits to work for Adolescents: Money management Time budgets Pride in accomplishments Important skills about how to get & keep a job Drawbacks to work: Give up sports, social affairs with peers &

sometimes sleep Lower grade point averages Poor school attendance Less satisfaction with school Less time with their families Alcohol and marijuana