Adolescence Adolescence takes place from age twelve to age eighteen. In adolescence, there are differing changes that occur in terms of cognitive, physical, and social/emotional development. This is when children turn into teenagers, and they change even more during adolescence. Cognitive development in adolescence is small compared to what can be observed in childhood, but there is still a lot of cognitive development that happens during this stage. Jean Piaget suggested that adolescents go through a stage of cognitive development that he coined the formal-operational stage. This is the last stage of thinking that he suggested people go through, as it extends into adulthood. In the formal operational stage, Piaget stated that, “children and
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158). Piaget also suggested that adolescents use deductive reasoning, which is, “drawing conclusions from facts,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 159). Another perspective on cognitive development in adolescence is information processing. Adolescents are going to be more developed than children in terms of cognitive development because their brains keep improving and their minds work better. According to Kail & Cavanaugh (2014), adolescents and adults have the same size working memory and processing speed (p. 228). This is because there is an “increase in myelination during adolescence that allows nerve impulses to travel more rapidly, which contributes to more rapid and more efficient information processing during this period,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, …show more content…
Puberty is a big change because it marks the time where you are sexually mature and can reproduce. Physical growth in adolescence is more rapid than it was in childhood. In one year, a girl will gain around fourteen pounds and a boy will gain around sixteen pounds (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Girls typically begin their growth spurt at age eleven and reach their full height at age fifteen, and boys begin their growth spurt at age thirteen and reach their full height at age seventeen (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Everyone knows of the awkwardness with the body that comes with being an adolescent, especially adolescents themselves, but this is because an adolescents body parts do not grow evenly, or all at the same time, for that matter. This tends to make teenagers, or the ones still growing, look out of proportion (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Besides actual physical growth, adolescents also develop through puberty, which is, “a collection of physical changes that mark the onset of adolescence, including a growth spurt and the growth of breasts or testes,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). In the stage of adolescence, teenagers become sexually mature, meaning that they are able to reproduce and create others human beings. There are two main changes that take place when an adolescent becomes sexually mature, and those
158). Piaget also suggested that adolescents use deductive reasoning, which is, “drawing conclusions from facts,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 159). Another perspective on cognitive development in adolescence is information processing. Adolescents are going to be more developed than children in terms of cognitive development because their brains keep improving and their minds work better. According to Kail & Cavanaugh (2014), adolescents and adults have the same size working memory and processing speed (p. 228). This is because there is an “increase in myelination during adolescence that allows nerve impulses to travel more rapidly, which contributes to more rapid and more efficient information processing during this period,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, …show more content…
Puberty is a big change because it marks the time where you are sexually mature and can reproduce. Physical growth in adolescence is more rapid than it was in childhood. In one year, a girl will gain around fourteen pounds and a boy will gain around sixteen pounds (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Girls typically begin their growth spurt at age eleven and reach their full height at age fifteen, and boys begin their growth spurt at age thirteen and reach their full height at age seventeen (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Everyone knows of the awkwardness with the body that comes with being an adolescent, especially adolescents themselves, but this is because an adolescents body parts do not grow evenly, or all at the same time, for that matter. This tends to make teenagers, or the ones still growing, look out of proportion (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). Besides actual physical growth, adolescents also develop through puberty, which is, “a collection of physical changes that mark the onset of adolescence, including a growth spurt and the growth of breasts or testes,” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2014, p. 218). In the stage of adolescence, teenagers become sexually mature, meaning that they are able to reproduce and create others human beings. There are two main changes that take place when an adolescent becomes sexually mature, and those