Developmental Psychology Adolescence

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Adolescence

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12 - 18 years

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Puberty

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menarche 9 and 17 yrs, Spermarche 10 and 14 yrs

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Piaget- Formal operations

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12‐15 years: formal operational thought; No longer tied to thinking about concrete things; “Operations on operations”; Can mentally manipulate internal representations – don’t need actual situation/object there

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Adolescent health should be good

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no more childhood infectious diseases; not yet damaged by ageing/accumulated stress

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Adolescents may place themselves at risk. More likely than children and adults to

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be involved in car accidents; engage in substance abuse; engage in risky sexual behaviour; choose an inadequate diet

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The adolescent brain and risk‐taking

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Amygdala and hippocampus increase in volume - increased intensity of emotion?; sensation‐seeking/risk‐taking behaviour?; more stimulation required than adults for same feelings; Immaturity of prefrontal cortex - insufficient to exercise higher‐level judgement about risk‐taking behaviour; Beliefs about invulnerability

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Cognitive development - Adolescence involves dramatic physical changes, but also striking developments in cognition. Adolescents can

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use logic and abstract thinking; systematically consider numerous factors

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Two major theoretical viewpoints:

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Piaget’s developmental stage theory; Information processing approach: human thinking = storage, retrieval and manipulation of information

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Hypothetico‐deductive reasoning - 13 yrs: children first start to make, and systematically test, their own observation‐based
hypothesises. Such reasoning is an essential part of science

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Piaget & Inhelder: classic pendulum problem; What factor is responsible for speed at which pendulum swings? Children with concrete operational thinking can’t yet use logical reasoning in a systematic way - try to vary two factors at once indefinite conclusion; Individuals with formal operational thinking use a systematic approach - hold two variables constant while varying third - Requires abstract, formal thinking

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Propositional reasoning - proposition is presented as being true; Need to make logical inference that the concluding statement is therefore also true; Formal operation children can do this

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Slugs are smarter than Uni lecturers. Uni lecturers are smarter than babies. Therefore slugs are smarter than babies