Summary literature AD
EXAM 1
Contents
Contents ...................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 – Biological transitions ................................................................................................................5
Chapter 3 – Social transitions ................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 2 – Cognitive transitions .............................................................................................................. 22
Chapter 9 – (244-261) ............................................................................................................................... 33
Coe-Odess et al. ...................................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 8 – Identity .................................................................................................................................. 42
Degenhardt et al. ..................................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 13 – Psychosocial Problems in Adolescence ................................................................................ 51
Ballonoff et al. ......................................................................................................................................... 58
Orben et al. ............................................................................................................................................. 59
Concepts and definitions ......................................................................................................................... 62
Introduction
The boundaries of adolescence
In all societies, adolescence is a time of growing up, moving from the immaturity of childhood into the maturity
of adulthood and of preparation for the future. Adolescence is a period of transitions: biological, psychological,
social and economic. Various aspects of adolescence have different beginnings and different endings.
Three periods during adolescence: among early adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence.
Three distinct groups of adolescents on how they see their future (research in USA):
- Early starters → finish their schooling, enter the labor force,
and live on their own immediately after high school
- Employment focused → finish their school, start regular
employment and live on their own before turning 21
- Education focused → finish their schooling not before the age
of 22 and did not expect to start a family until age 24 or 25
Framework of studying adolescent development
The fundamental changes of adolescence
According to Hill, three features are characteristic for adolescence
1. Biological transition (pubterty)
- Involve changes in physical appearance and the development of the ability to conceive children.
2. Cognitive transition
- Adolescents are better able to think about hypothetical situations and about abstract concepts
- Research start to shed light on the ways in which these and other changes in thinking during
adolescence result from the maturation of various brain regions and systems.
3. Social transitions
- All societies distinguish between individuals who are viewed as children and those who are seen as
ready to become adults. This results in changes in rights, privileges and responsibilities.
, - In some cultures, this transition is marked by a formal ceremony (rite of passage).
The contexts of adolescence
Although all adolescents experience the biological, cognitive and social transitions of the period, the effects of
these changes are not uniform. The effects of these transitions are shaped by the environment. Psychological
development during adolescence is a product of the interplay between a set of three very basic, universal
changes and the context in which these changes are experienced.
According to the ecological perspective on human development, development cannot be understood
without examining the environment. There are four main contexts: families, peer groups, schools and work and
leisure settings. These are located within neighborhoods, which influence how they are structured and what
takes place in them. And the community in which these settings are located is itself embedded in a broader
context that is shaped by culture, geography, economics and history.
- Families → dramatic change in family relationships and important to understand how changes within
the family and in the broader context of family life affect adolescents’ psychological development.
- Peer groups → play an increasingly important role in the socialization and development of teenagers.
- Schools → contemporary society depends on schools to occupy, socialize and educate adolescents.
- Work, leisure and the mass media
Psychosocial development in adolescence
Five elements of psychosocial development: identity, autonomy, intimacy, sexuality and achievement. These
elements, psychological and social problems can occur during all periods of life:
1. Identity → Discovering and understanding who we are as individuals
- May involve a period of experimentation
- Not only for the adolescent, but also for recognition of others.
- Some of the most important changes take place in identity, self-esteem and self-conceptions.
2. Autonomy → establishing a healthy sense of independence
- becoming less emotionally dependent on parents, learning to function independently and establishing
a personal code of values and morals.
3. Intimacy → forming close and caring relationships with others
- Important changes take place in the individual's capacity to be intimate with others
- Friendships start involving openness, honesty, loyalty and exchange of confidences
- Dating and forming trusting and loving romantic relationships become more important
4. Sexuality → expressing sexual feelings and enjoying physical contact with others
- Important aspect of development
- Raises also difficult questions for the young person
o Incorporating sexuality into a still-developing sense of self, understanding one’s sexual
orientation, resolving questions about sexual values and morals, and coming to terms with the
sorts of relationships the adolescent is prepared to enter.
5. Achievement → being successful and competent members of society
- Crucial decisions about schooling and careers are made during adolescence.
- Depend on evaluations of their competencies and capabilities, achievement in school, aspirations and
expectations for the future, and the direction/advice they receive from parents, teachers and friends.
Development in each of these areas takes a special turn during adolescence.
Psychosocial problems
Adolescence is the most common time for the first appearance of serious psychological difficulties. Three sets
of problems are often associated with adolescence:
1. Drug and alcohol use/abuse
2. Delinquency and other externalizing problems
3. Depression and other internalizing problems
,Theoretical perspectives on adolescence
Theoretical perspectives can be organized on a scale from only nature to only nurture.
Biosocial theories
Biosocial theories of adolescence stress the hormonal and physical changes of puberty as driving forces.
Hall’s Theory of Recapitulation
Hall believed that the development of the individual paralleled the development of human species.
Adolescence was seen as a transitional and turbulent time that paralleled the evolution of our species from
primitive savages into civilized adults.
The development was determined primarily by instinct and hardly influenced by the environment
Adolescence is inevitably a period of “storm and stress”. Hormonal changes can cause upheaval, for both the
individual and for those around him/her. The best society can do is to find ways of managing the young person.
Contemporary work continues to emphasize the role that biological factors play in shaping adolescent
experience. Current work also explores the genetic bases of individual differences in adolescence and the
evolutionary bases of adolescent behavior.
Dual system theories
The dual system of maturational imbalance theories stresses the simultaneous development of two different
brain systems.
- One that governs the ways in which the brain processes rewards, punishments and social and
emotional information
- Other that regulates self-control and advanced thinking abilities
The emotional system is done developing, while the control system is still developing. The main challenge of
adolescence is to develop better self-regulation, so that this imbalance doesn’t create problems.
Organismic Theories
Organismic theories recognize the importance of biological changes but also take into account the ways in
which contextual forces interact with and modify these biological forces.
Freudian theory
Puberty temporarily throws the adolescent into a period of psychological crisis by reviving old conflicts or
uncomfortable sexual urges that had been buried in the unconscious
Daughter Freud: adolescents have a need to break away/detach from their parents in order to develop normally.
Eriksonian Theory
Internal, biological developments moved the individual from one developmental stage to the next. But more
focus on the psychosocial conflicts faced by the individual in each developmental stage. Development in
adolescence revolved around identity crisis. The challenge of adolescence is to resolve the identity crisis and
to emerge with a coherent sense of who one is and where one is headed.
Piagetian Theory
As children mature, they pass through distinct stages of cognitive development. Adolescence marks the
transition from concrete to abstract thought. Individuals become capable of thinking in hypothetical terms.
This development permits a broad expansion of logical capabilities. The development of abstract thinking in
, adolescence is influenced both by the internal biological changes of the developmental period and by changes
in the intellectual environment encountered by the individual.
Learning Theories
Learning theories stress the context in which behavior takes place. The capacity to learn from experience is
assumed to be a biological give. Learning theorists are interested in the content of what is learned.
Learning theorists assume that the basic processes of human behavior are the same during adolescence as
during other periods of the life span.
Behaviorism
Emphasize the processes of reinforcement and punishment as the main influences on adolescent behavior.
Skinner was the main proponent of this view with his theory of operant conditioning. Within this framework,
reinforcement made behavior more likely to occur and punishment made the behavior less likely to occur.
Adolescents’ behavior is the product of the various reinforcements and punishments they’ve been exposed to.
Social learning theory
Social learning theorists emphasize the process of observational learning and imitation. Adolescents learn by
watching and modeling those around them. Social learning approaches to adolescence have been very
influential in explaining how adolescents learn by watching behavior of others, especially parents, peers and
figures in mass media.
Sociological theories
Sociological theories of adolescence attempt to understand how adolescents, as a group, come of age in
society. Sociological theories focus on the factors that all adolescents or groups of adolescents have in
common by virtue of their age.
Adolescent Marginality
There is a vast difference in power between the adult and the adolescent generations, which may leave
adolescents feeling marginalized or insignificant. Contemporary applications stress the fact that because
adolescents are often prohibited from occupying meaningful roles in society, adolescents often become
frustrated and restless.
Some claimed that many of the problems we associate with adolescence have been created by the way in
which we have structured the adolescent experience, treating adolescents as if they are more immature and
isolating them from adults.
Intergenerational Conflict
Theorists stress the fact that adolescents and adults frow up under different social circumstances and
therefore develop different sets of attitudes, values and beliefs. This leads to an inevitable tension between the
adolescent and the adult generations.
Historical and anthropological perspectives
Historical perspectives stress that adolescence as a developmental period has varied considerably from one
historical era to another. Therefore, it is impossible to generalize about such issues as the degree to which
adolescence is stressful, the developmental tasks or the nature of intergenerational relationships. Historians
would say that these issues all depend on the social, political and economic forces present at a given time.
Adolescence as an invention
Some theorists argue that adolescence is entirely a social invention. They believe that the way in which we
divide the life cycle into stages is nothing more than a reflection of the political, economic, and social
circumstances in which we live.
Social conditions define the nature of adolescent development. If emerging adulthood has become a stage in
development, it only has because society has made it so, not because people have really changed in any
fundamental way.
EXAM 1
Contents
Contents ...................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 – Biological transitions ................................................................................................................5
Chapter 3 – Social transitions ................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 2 – Cognitive transitions .............................................................................................................. 22
Chapter 9 – (244-261) ............................................................................................................................... 33
Coe-Odess et al. ...................................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 8 – Identity .................................................................................................................................. 42
Degenhardt et al. ..................................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 13 – Psychosocial Problems in Adolescence ................................................................................ 51
Ballonoff et al. ......................................................................................................................................... 58
Orben et al. ............................................................................................................................................. 59
Concepts and definitions ......................................................................................................................... 62
Introduction
The boundaries of adolescence
In all societies, adolescence is a time of growing up, moving from the immaturity of childhood into the maturity
of adulthood and of preparation for the future. Adolescence is a period of transitions: biological, psychological,
social and economic. Various aspects of adolescence have different beginnings and different endings.
Three periods during adolescence: among early adolescence, middle adolescence and late adolescence.
Three distinct groups of adolescents on how they see their future (research in USA):
- Early starters → finish their schooling, enter the labor force,
and live on their own immediately after high school
- Employment focused → finish their school, start regular
employment and live on their own before turning 21
- Education focused → finish their schooling not before the age
of 22 and did not expect to start a family until age 24 or 25
Framework of studying adolescent development
The fundamental changes of adolescence
According to Hill, three features are characteristic for adolescence
1. Biological transition (pubterty)
- Involve changes in physical appearance and the development of the ability to conceive children.
2. Cognitive transition
- Adolescents are better able to think about hypothetical situations and about abstract concepts
- Research start to shed light on the ways in which these and other changes in thinking during
adolescence result from the maturation of various brain regions and systems.
3. Social transitions
- All societies distinguish between individuals who are viewed as children and those who are seen as
ready to become adults. This results in changes in rights, privileges and responsibilities.
, - In some cultures, this transition is marked by a formal ceremony (rite of passage).
The contexts of adolescence
Although all adolescents experience the biological, cognitive and social transitions of the period, the effects of
these changes are not uniform. The effects of these transitions are shaped by the environment. Psychological
development during adolescence is a product of the interplay between a set of three very basic, universal
changes and the context in which these changes are experienced.
According to the ecological perspective on human development, development cannot be understood
without examining the environment. There are four main contexts: families, peer groups, schools and work and
leisure settings. These are located within neighborhoods, which influence how they are structured and what
takes place in them. And the community in which these settings are located is itself embedded in a broader
context that is shaped by culture, geography, economics and history.
- Families → dramatic change in family relationships and important to understand how changes within
the family and in the broader context of family life affect adolescents’ psychological development.
- Peer groups → play an increasingly important role in the socialization and development of teenagers.
- Schools → contemporary society depends on schools to occupy, socialize and educate adolescents.
- Work, leisure and the mass media
Psychosocial development in adolescence
Five elements of psychosocial development: identity, autonomy, intimacy, sexuality and achievement. These
elements, psychological and social problems can occur during all periods of life:
1. Identity → Discovering and understanding who we are as individuals
- May involve a period of experimentation
- Not only for the adolescent, but also for recognition of others.
- Some of the most important changes take place in identity, self-esteem and self-conceptions.
2. Autonomy → establishing a healthy sense of independence
- becoming less emotionally dependent on parents, learning to function independently and establishing
a personal code of values and morals.
3. Intimacy → forming close and caring relationships with others
- Important changes take place in the individual's capacity to be intimate with others
- Friendships start involving openness, honesty, loyalty and exchange of confidences
- Dating and forming trusting and loving romantic relationships become more important
4. Sexuality → expressing sexual feelings and enjoying physical contact with others
- Important aspect of development
- Raises also difficult questions for the young person
o Incorporating sexuality into a still-developing sense of self, understanding one’s sexual
orientation, resolving questions about sexual values and morals, and coming to terms with the
sorts of relationships the adolescent is prepared to enter.
5. Achievement → being successful and competent members of society
- Crucial decisions about schooling and careers are made during adolescence.
- Depend on evaluations of their competencies and capabilities, achievement in school, aspirations and
expectations for the future, and the direction/advice they receive from parents, teachers and friends.
Development in each of these areas takes a special turn during adolescence.
Psychosocial problems
Adolescence is the most common time for the first appearance of serious psychological difficulties. Three sets
of problems are often associated with adolescence:
1. Drug and alcohol use/abuse
2. Delinquency and other externalizing problems
3. Depression and other internalizing problems
,Theoretical perspectives on adolescence
Theoretical perspectives can be organized on a scale from only nature to only nurture.
Biosocial theories
Biosocial theories of adolescence stress the hormonal and physical changes of puberty as driving forces.
Hall’s Theory of Recapitulation
Hall believed that the development of the individual paralleled the development of human species.
Adolescence was seen as a transitional and turbulent time that paralleled the evolution of our species from
primitive savages into civilized adults.
The development was determined primarily by instinct and hardly influenced by the environment
Adolescence is inevitably a period of “storm and stress”. Hormonal changes can cause upheaval, for both the
individual and for those around him/her. The best society can do is to find ways of managing the young person.
Contemporary work continues to emphasize the role that biological factors play in shaping adolescent
experience. Current work also explores the genetic bases of individual differences in adolescence and the
evolutionary bases of adolescent behavior.
Dual system theories
The dual system of maturational imbalance theories stresses the simultaneous development of two different
brain systems.
- One that governs the ways in which the brain processes rewards, punishments and social and
emotional information
- Other that regulates self-control and advanced thinking abilities
The emotional system is done developing, while the control system is still developing. The main challenge of
adolescence is to develop better self-regulation, so that this imbalance doesn’t create problems.
Organismic Theories
Organismic theories recognize the importance of biological changes but also take into account the ways in
which contextual forces interact with and modify these biological forces.
Freudian theory
Puberty temporarily throws the adolescent into a period of psychological crisis by reviving old conflicts or
uncomfortable sexual urges that had been buried in the unconscious
Daughter Freud: adolescents have a need to break away/detach from their parents in order to develop normally.
Eriksonian Theory
Internal, biological developments moved the individual from one developmental stage to the next. But more
focus on the psychosocial conflicts faced by the individual in each developmental stage. Development in
adolescence revolved around identity crisis. The challenge of adolescence is to resolve the identity crisis and
to emerge with a coherent sense of who one is and where one is headed.
Piagetian Theory
As children mature, they pass through distinct stages of cognitive development. Adolescence marks the
transition from concrete to abstract thought. Individuals become capable of thinking in hypothetical terms.
This development permits a broad expansion of logical capabilities. The development of abstract thinking in
, adolescence is influenced both by the internal biological changes of the developmental period and by changes
in the intellectual environment encountered by the individual.
Learning Theories
Learning theories stress the context in which behavior takes place. The capacity to learn from experience is
assumed to be a biological give. Learning theorists are interested in the content of what is learned.
Learning theorists assume that the basic processes of human behavior are the same during adolescence as
during other periods of the life span.
Behaviorism
Emphasize the processes of reinforcement and punishment as the main influences on adolescent behavior.
Skinner was the main proponent of this view with his theory of operant conditioning. Within this framework,
reinforcement made behavior more likely to occur and punishment made the behavior less likely to occur.
Adolescents’ behavior is the product of the various reinforcements and punishments they’ve been exposed to.
Social learning theory
Social learning theorists emphasize the process of observational learning and imitation. Adolescents learn by
watching and modeling those around them. Social learning approaches to adolescence have been very
influential in explaining how adolescents learn by watching behavior of others, especially parents, peers and
figures in mass media.
Sociological theories
Sociological theories of adolescence attempt to understand how adolescents, as a group, come of age in
society. Sociological theories focus on the factors that all adolescents or groups of adolescents have in
common by virtue of their age.
Adolescent Marginality
There is a vast difference in power between the adult and the adolescent generations, which may leave
adolescents feeling marginalized or insignificant. Contemporary applications stress the fact that because
adolescents are often prohibited from occupying meaningful roles in society, adolescents often become
frustrated and restless.
Some claimed that many of the problems we associate with adolescence have been created by the way in
which we have structured the adolescent experience, treating adolescents as if they are more immature and
isolating them from adults.
Intergenerational Conflict
Theorists stress the fact that adolescents and adults frow up under different social circumstances and
therefore develop different sets of attitudes, values and beliefs. This leads to an inevitable tension between the
adolescent and the adult generations.
Historical and anthropological perspectives
Historical perspectives stress that adolescence as a developmental period has varied considerably from one
historical era to another. Therefore, it is impossible to generalize about such issues as the degree to which
adolescence is stressful, the developmental tasks or the nature of intergenerational relationships. Historians
would say that these issues all depend on the social, political and economic forces present at a given time.
Adolescence as an invention
Some theorists argue that adolescence is entirely a social invention. They believe that the way in which we
divide the life cycle into stages is nothing more than a reflection of the political, economic, and social
circumstances in which we live.
Social conditions define the nature of adolescent development. If emerging adulthood has become a stage in
development, it only has because society has made it so, not because people have really changed in any
fundamental way.
