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Developing Through
the Life Span
PowerPoint®
Presentation
by Jim Foley
© 2013 Worth
Publishers
Module 11: Adolescence
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Teenage Topics
Physical Development: Puberty
and more
Cognitive Development in
Adolescence
 Reasoning Power
 Moral Intuition, Reasoning, and
Action
Social Development in Adolescence
 Forming an Identity
 Parent and Peer Relationships
Emerging Adulthood
The next phase of development
 Developmental psychologists used to focus
attention only on childhood.
 Lifespan perspective refers to the idea that
development is a lifelong process.
 The next phase of that process is adolescence.
 the transition period
from childhood to
adulthood
 the period of
development ranging
from puberty to
independence
Are these kids adolescents yet?
Adolescent Physical Development
Puberty is the time of
sexual maturation
(becoming physically able
to reproduce).
During puberty, increased
sex hormones lead to:
 primary and secondary
sex characteristics.
 some changes in mood
and behavior.
As with other maturation,
the sequence is more
predictable than the
timing.
Effects of Early Physical
Maturation:
Boys who become
strong/athletic early
• become more popular
and confident
• Are at greater risk of
substance abuse,
delinquency, premature
sexual activity.
Girls whose bodies mature
early may associate with
older teens or be teased or
taunted.
Adolescent Brain Development
 During puberty, the brain
stops automatically adding
new connections, and
starts pruning away the
neurons and synapses that
aren’t being used (Use
them or lose them!)
 The frontal lobes are still
forming during this time,
still becoming more
efficient at conducting
signals.
 The adolescent brain is at
its peak of learning ability
but not fully able to inhibit
impulses (good
accelerator, bad brakes).
“Young man, go to your room and stay
until your frontal lobes finish forming.”
Adolescent Cognitive Development
According to Jean Piaget,
adolescents are in the formal
operational stage. They use this
reasoning to:
 think about how reality
compares to ideals.
 think hypothetically about
different choices and their
consequences.
 critique the reasoning of others.
 debate matters of justice,
meaning of life, and human
nature.
Building Toward Moral Reasoning
Adolescents see justice
and fairness in terms of
merit and equity
instead of in terms of
everyone getting equal
treatment.
Moral Intuition: Our
reasoning may be
directed by emotions,
such as
 disgust about evil
acts, and
 elevated feelings
about generosity and
courage.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Levels of Moral Reasoning
Preconventional morality (up to
age 9): “Follow the rules because
if you don’t, you’ll get in trouble;
if you do, you might get a treat.”
Conventional morality (early
adolescence): “Follow the rules
because we get along better if
everyone does the right thing.”
Postconventional morality (later
adolescence and adulthood):
“Sometimes rules need to be set
aside to pursue higher principles.”
Building Toward Moral Reasoning
 Adolescents see
justice and fairness in
terms of merit and
equity instead of in
terms of everyone
getting equal
treatment.
 Adolescents may
strive to advocate for
ideals and political
causes.
 Adolescents think
about god, meaning,
and purpose in
deeper terms than in
childhood.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Levels of Moral Reasoning
Preconventional morality (up to
age 9): “Follow the rules because
if you don’t, you’ll get in trouble;
if you do, you might get a treat.”
Conventional morality (early
adolescence): “Follow the rules
because we get along better if
everyone does the right thing.”
Postconventional morality (later
adolescence and adulthood):
“Sometimes rules need to be set
aside to pursue higher principles.”
Example:
looting after a natural disaster
Which level of moral reasoning is involved?
 Looting is a problem; if everyone did it, there would be
escalating chaos and greater damage to the economy.
 Looting is generally wrong, yet morally right when your
family’s survival seems to depend on it.
 Looting is wrong because you might get punished, but if no
one is punished, that’s a sign that it’s okay.
Moral Intuition
 Jonathan Haidt believed moral
decisions are often driven by
moral intuition, that is, quick,
gut-feeling decisions.
 This intuition is not just based
in moral reasoning but also in
emotions such as:
 disgust. We may turn away
from choosing an action
because it feels awful.
 elevated feelings. We may
get a rewarding delight from
some moral behavior such
as donating to charity.
An Example of Moral
Intuition:
Given a hypothetical
choice to save five people
from an oncoming trolley
by killing one person,
many people’s choice is
determined not just by
reasoning, but by disgust.
Many people would flip a
switch to make this
choice, but not as many
would push a person on
the tracks to save five
others.
Moral Action: Doing the Right Thing
Character
education:
what helps
people choose
principled
actions over
selfishness or
social pressure?
Experience
serving
others/the
greater
good
Empathy for
the feelings
of others
Delaying
gratification
to plan for
larger goals
Selfdiscipline,
or the ability
to resist
impulses
Psychosocial Development: Erikson’s
Stages
 Each age involves an “issue,” a psychological
challenge in managing our interaction with the social
world.
 The “vs.” part: there is tension between two
opposing tendencies.
 Successfully resolving this tension gives us strengths
that help us move to the next stage.
 Not resolving this tension can lead to lifelong
emotional and social difficulties.
Social Development: Erik Erikson
 Erik Erikson’s model of lifelong
psychosocial developmentsees
adolescence as a struggle to
form an identity, a sense of
self.
 Adolescents may in different
roles with peers, with parents,
and with teachers, try out
different “selves.”
 For Erikson, the challenge in
adolescence is to test and
integrate the roles/selves in
order to prevent role
confusion (which of those
selves, or what combination, is
really me?).
Erik Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial Development
Other Eriksonian stages on the minds
of adolescents
While currently in the
identity vs. role
confusion stage,
 adolescents have
ideally just finished
working through
the tension of
competence vs.
inferiority.
 They are ready
after adolescence
to take on the
challenge of
intimacy vs.
isolation.
Peer Influence
 The degree of peer influence is hard to trace. Apparent
conformity (the whole group smokes) could be a selection
effect (they get together because they want to be with
others who like to smoke).
 Interaction with peers can teach new social skills.
 Parents may try to have indirect influence by selecting a
child’s peers, such as by selecting a school or neighborhood.
However, ultimately, most children self-select their peers.
Influences on Identity:
Parent and Peer
Relationships
 During adolescence,
peer relationships take
center stage.
 Conflicts arise in this
stage, especially with
first born children.
 The challenge: finding
how adolescent
relationships with
peers and with parents
can coexist well, rather
than being in conflict.
Parents vs. Peers
Battling over non-genetic influence
Parents have more
influence on:
Education and career path
Cooperation
Self-discipline
Responsibility
Charitableness
Religion
Style of interaction with
authority figures
Peers have more
influence on:
Learning cooperation skills
Learning the path to
popularity
Choice of music and other
recreation
Choice of clothing and
other cultural choices
Good and bad habits
Adolescence, the sequel…
Emerging Adulthood
In some countries, added years of
education and later marriage has
delayed full adult independence
beyond traditional adolescence. This
seems to have created a new phase
which can be called emerging
adulthood, ages 18-25.