Cognitive Development in Adolescence Flashcards
(12 cards)
Defining Adolescence
Perceptions of Adolescence
Transition between childhood and adulthood
Biological
* Onset of puberty
* Sexual maturity
* Brain reorganisation
Social
* Increased independence from parents
* Increased importance of peer groups
Defining Adolescence
Variation
Menarche: Onset of menstruation
* Historical and cultural variation in timing of puberty
* Psychological impacts: Hormonal changes younger but brain development is later
Brain Development in Adolescence
Changes in the Ratio of Grey to White Matter in Prefrontal Areas
- Synaptogenesis: Early years of neurons forming synapses with each other (help learn and develop)
- Synaptic Pruning: Early adolescence there is an overabundance of neurons and synapses must be eliminated
- Reduced grey matter and removes unneeded pathways (more efficiency)
- Myelination: Coating of the neurons to improve connections
- Insulation improves how information transmits between neurons
- Axonal Caliber: Increase in axonal diameter which improves efficiency of transmission
- Increase white matter through adolescence into adulthood
Brain Development in Adolescence
Increase in Connectivity
Connections between cortical and sub-cortical areas increase throughout adolescence
* Parallel increases in functional connectivity
Brain Development in Adolescence
Changes in Subcortical Processes
Early Adolescence: Dopamine receptors are remodelled
* Increase in dopaminergic activity in prefrontal-striatal-limbic pathway (reward seeking, motivated action area)
Brain Development in Adolescence
Temporary Imbalance
Early development in limbic system: More gradual development of prefrontal cortex
* Dual systems model of risk taking and decision making
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Formational Operational (12 Years +)
Able to reason about abstractions and hypothetical situations, generalise information and form experiments to test hypothesis
Characteristics:
* Abstract thought: Operations are abstracted away from concrete operations
* Realm of possibility: Can apply logical thinking to possible realities as well as actual reality to think about what might be possible
* Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: Adolescent as apprentice scientists
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Tasks
Balance Scale Problem
* Tests interpropositional thinking
* Must consider weight and distance at same time
* Only adolescents succeed
Pendulum Problem
* Tests hypothetico-deductive reasoning
* Concrete operational children: Try different pendulums but not in systematic way
* Formal operational adolescents: Make hypotheses and systematically vary one variable at a time and then combine
Critiques of Piaget’s Theory
Overestimates Formal Operational Thinking
Not all adolescents use formal operational thinking
* Bradmetz (1999): 65% of 15 year olds used non-formal thinking
Some reach the stage later than predicted, or not at all
* Capon & Kuhn (1979): Majority did not use formal reasoning
Critiques of Piaget’s Theory
Assumes Understanding is Constructed and Knowledge Plays Little Role in Development
Teaching does not increase formal operational thinking
Knowledge affects performance on operational tasks
* De Lisi & Staudt (1980): More students showed formal level thinking on tasks related to their subject knowledge
Post-Piagetian Approaches
Kuhn (1989): Adolescents as Intuitive Scientists
Children can construct theories and test them
* Cognitive development is domain-specific
* Different theories and methods for different domains
* Development is metacognitive
* Does not involve underlying local competence
* Understand how theories and evidence works and being able to work things out
Post-Piagetian Approaches
Seigler (1976): Information-Processing Theory
Rule-Based Thinking
* Thinking is not supported by general-purpose formal operations
* Thinking is rule-based and rules are domain-specific
* Children learn or generate rules: Strategies
* Development occurs as children adopt more complex rules
