Human Growth and

Development

Chapter Fifteen Adolescence:

Cognitive DevelopmentPowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont CollegeRevised by Jenni Fauchier, Metropolitan Community College

• Basic cognitive skills continue to emerge

• Logic emerges• Intuitive thinking becomes

quicker and more compelling

Intellectual Advances

• Every basic skill of information process continues to develop

• Brain maturation continues– myelination is ongoing, so reaction time

shorter– prefrontal cortex becomes more densely

packed and more efficient•helps in planning, analyzing, and being

able to pursue goals• Language mastery improves

More and Better Cognition

• Piaget’s formal operational thought, characterized by ability to think logically about abstract ideas– qualitatively different from

children’s thoughts

New Logical Abilities

• Important characteristics– hypothetical thought

•thinking about possibilities – deductive and inductive reasoning

•deductive reasoning—reasoning from general principle via logical steps to specific conclusion

•inductive reasoning—reasoning specific experiences or facts to a general conclusion

Hypothetical-Deductive Thought

• Hypothetical thought and deductive reasoning not always demonstrated in adolescence, nor acquired by everyone

More Intuitive, Emotional Thought

• Two modes of information processing advance during adolescence– analytic thought (adolescents don’t

always like to use this type of thinking)– intuitive thought (ideas are discovered

and applied)

• Characteristic of adolescent thinking that sometimes leads young people to focus on themselves to the exclusion of others and to believe that their thoughts feelings and experiences are unique

Adolescent Egocentrism

Adolescent Egocentrism, cont.

• Invincibility fable– adolescents feel they are immune to the laws

of mortality and probability (and nature)

– they therefore take all kinds of risks

• Personal fable– adolescents imagine their own lives as

mythical or heroic

– they see themselves destined for fame or fortune

Adolescent Egocentrism, cont.

• Imaginary audience

– adolescents fantasize about how others will react (opinions of onlookers)

– they assume everyone else judges appearance(s)

– they’re not at ease with social world

Adolescent Egocentrism, cont.

• The various forms of adolescent egocentrism are the most obvious forms of intuitive, emotional thought

• Adolescent egocentrism is not necessarily destructive

– “may signal growth toward cognitive maturity” and personal adaptation

• Intuitive thinking is apparent when adolescents are not judging themselves

• It is quick and emotional and can be wrong

• Cognitive economy– as knowledge base increases, thinking is

quicker

– both analysis and intuition become more readily and powerfully available

Intuitive Conclusions

• Adolescence is a time for personal decisions and independent choices with far-reaching consequences

• Adolescents think about possibilities, not practicalities; thus, few decide important matters rationally– egocentrism and intuitive thinking

make it hard to analyze and plan ahead

Adolescent Decision Making

• Reasons adults try to protect teenagers from poor judgment– consequences of risk taking are more

serious the younger the person is– adolescent choices are long-lasting– adolescents overate the joys of the

moment and ignore future costs

Weighing Risks and Benefits

Weighing Risks and Benefits, cont.

• Every decision requires weighing risk against opportunity

• Consequences are discounted, probability miscalculated, and their future put at risk

• Sex differences– boys more likely to take risks– girls admire risk-taking boys

• Few adolescents can or should decide their future career

• Courses studied and leisure choices do make a difference

Making Decisions School, Jobs, and Sex

• Graduation from high school confers many benefits– graduates stay healthier, live

longer, are richer, and more likely to marry, stay out of jail, and buy homes

• Worldwide, more adolescents are attending high school

School: The Volatile Mismatch

• Volatile mismatch (reason for dropping out)– current needs often conflict with

traditional structures of schools– person-environment fit—degree to

which environment is conducive to growth of particular individual

School: The Volatile Mismatch (cont.)

• Secondary schools focused on the elite; thus, they do not reflect needs of most adolescents

• School schedules undercut education

• In large schools, only a few juniors and seniors can be involved in extracurricular activities

School: The Volatile Mismatch, cont.

School: The Volatile Mismatch, cont.

• Internationally, education systems vary in expectations, curriculum, pedagogical methods, and legal requirements

• U.S. teenagers work more and learn less than teenagers elsewhere

• Teenagers usually oriented not toward future skills but to earn spending money

• The United States has fewer school-to-work arrangements than other countries

• Some kids must work to help their families

Working Outside of School

• Meaningful jobs for adolescents are rare

• Having a job more than 20 hours/week means less time for study and lower grades

• Stable work history in adolescence leads to more stable work history in adulthood

Working Outside of School, cont.

• International differences in teen birth rates are dramatic– rate is higher in United States

because more teens sexually active• Cultural differences in onset of sexual

intercourse before age 18 years are vast

What Teenagers Decide About Sex

What Teenagers Decide About Sex, cont.

• Teen birth rate worldwide is decreasing

• Use of contraception, especially by teenage boys, has at least doubled in most nations since 1990 and tripled in the United States since that time.

• Being sexually active includes other sexual behaviors than penile-vaginal penetration

• New wave of sex education– more practical

– focus on social interaction: communication and specific knowledge

– information from friends, older siblings, and parents

• Teaching teens about sex does not necessarily lead them to act upon what they’ve learned

Sex Education in School

Risk Taking, Decision Making, and Cultures

• Culture and national trends are very influential

– risk taking varies by ethnic group

• Final decisions about sex, drugs, school, and other matters tend to be made in consultation with families and peers and guided by the community

Risk Taking, Decision Making, and Cultures, cont.

• A review of family planning around the world shows that teens make responsible decisions about sex if facts and confidentially are available