Module 12: Adolescence

Question 1

Adolescence

Answer 1

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

Question 2

Puberty

Answer 2

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.

Question 3

The teenage brain

Answer 3

• Until puberty —-> brain cells increase connections
• During adolescence —-> selective pruning of unused neurons and connections
• Frontal lobes continue to develop —-> improved judgement, impulse control, long-term planning

Question 4

Why are teens so impulsive?

Answer 4

• The maturation of the frontal lobes is slower than the emotional limbic system (frontal lobe continues to mature until 25)
• Hormonal surge + development of limbic system —-> explain impulsiveness, risky behaviors, and emotional storms

Question 5

How do teens think about risks?

Answer 5

• They don’t underestimate risks

- Weigh immediate benefits more heavily

Question 6

Developing reasoning power

Answer 6

• When adolescents reach formal operations (Piaget), they can apply abstract reasoning tools to the world around them.
• Sense of what’s fair —-> changed from equality to equity
• Search for spirituality and deeper meaning of life

Question 7

Preconventional morality

Answer 7

• Before age 9
• Self-interest
• Obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards

Question 8

Conventional morality

Answer 8

• Early adolescence

- Uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order

Question 9

Postconventional morality

Answer 9

• Adolescence and beyond

- Actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles

Question 10

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Infancy

Answer 10

• To 1 year
• Trust vs. Mistrust
• If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

Question 11

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Toddlerhood

Answer 11

• 1 to 3
• Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt
• Learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves, or doubt their abilities

Question 12

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Preschool

Answer 12

• 3 to 6
• Initiative vs. Guilt
• Learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or feel guilty about their efforts to be independent

Question 13

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Elementary

Answer 13

• 6 to puberty
• Competence vs. Inferiority
• Learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior

Question 14

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Adolescence

Answer 14

• Teen into 20s
• Identity vs. Role confusion
• Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

Question 15

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Young Adulthood

Answer 15

• 20s to early 40s
• Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated.

Question 16

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Middle Adulthood

Answer 16

• 40s to 60s
• Generativity vs. Stagnation
• Discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family + work, or they may feel a lack of purpose

Question 17

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

Late Adulthood

Answer 17

• 60s and up
• Integrity vs. Despair
• Reflecting on their lives, older adults may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

Question 18

Identity

Answer 18

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

Question 19

Social identity

Answer 19

The “we” aspect of our self-concept, the part of our answer to “who am I?” that comes from our group memberships.

Question 20

Intimacy

Answer 20

In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood.

Question 21

Emerging adulthood

Answer 21

A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.