Introductory Psychology:
Developmental Psychology
Topic: Adolescence
AP PSYCHOLOGY: UNIT VI
The Nature of Adolescence
 G. Stanley Hall’s
“Storm and Stress”

Adolescents caught
between biological
maturity and
dependence
 Issues:
 Peer social approval
 Sense of direction
 Alienation from parents
social
Adolescence:
Physical Development
PART ONE
Adolescence: Physical Development
 This image illustrates brain development through
early adulthood
 Blue indicating the mature state.
 Prefrontal cortex (white circle), governs judgment
and decision-making, is last part of brain to develop
 May help explain why
teens, who are more
prone to risk-taking
behavior, are particularly
vulnerable to drug abuse
Adolescence: Physical Development
 Characteristics of the Teenage Brain
 Volume of white matter increases; significant growth
of myelin sheath


Volume of gray matter decreases; synaptic pruning


Leads to enhanced conductivity & connectivity in the
brain
Elimination of less-active synapses
Myelination & pruning are most pronounced in the
frontal lobe/prefrontal cortex
“Executive control center”
 Frontal lobe development lags behind the limbic system;
not thought to be complete until the mid-20s

Adolescence: Physical Development
 Sexual Development

Growth spurt
 Girls (age 10); boys (age 12)
 Puberty generally occurs (on average) two
years after the initial growth spurt

Pubescence
 The two-year span preceding puberty during
which the changes leading to physical & sexual
maturity take place
 Secondary sex characteristics begin to develop
during this period
Adolescence: Physical Development
 The impact of puberty, especially early
developers?
 Adolescent sexual activity
 Approximately ¾ of males and ½ females (between 15
and 19) have engaged in sex
 Average: 16 and 17 for males & females respectively
 Teenage pregnancy
 Rate of teen pregnancy has fallen in the last 50 years
 Highest in U.S. of all industrialized nations
Adolescence:
Cognitive Development
PART TWO
Adolescence: Cognitive Development
 Piaget’s Stage Theory
 Formal Operational
 Characteristics of Stage
 Due to the continuing
maturation of the frontal
lobes, abstract and hypothetical thinking
become possible
 Not
all adolescents use their formal
operational thought processes equally well…
Adolescence: Cognitive Development
 Characteristics of Adolescent Thought
 Introspection


Hypocrisy


Teens become self-centered
Moral development – cognitive dissonance
Personal Fable (form of egocentrism)
 Type of thought common to most adolescents
Belief that they (+ their experiences) are unique and
therefore, they are protected from harm/invulnerable
 “You just don’t understand me, I’m different from you!”
 “It can’t happen to me, I’m special!”

Adolescence: Cognitive Development
 Characteristics of
Adolescent Thought

Imaginary Audience
(form of egocentrism)
 Type of thought common
to most adolescents
 The
belief that other people are just as
concerned about their thoughts &
characteristics as they themselves are
Adolescence:
Psychosocial Development
PART THREE
Adolescence: Psychosocial Development
 Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage Theory
 Identity versus Role Confusion (Stage 5)
 The premier challenge of adolescence is the
struggle to form a clear sense of identity
 Stable concept of oneself as a unique
individual
 Adoption of values that provide a sense of
direction
• “Who am I?”
• “Where am I going in life?”
 Recognized
that this struggle often extends
beyond adolescence
Adolescence: Psychosocial Development
 Jeffrey Arnett, Emerging Adulthood
 A new transitional period?
 Ages 18-25; attributed to a variety of
demographic trends
 Length of education; delay of education; delay
of parenthood; increasing barriers to
financial independence

Characteristics
 Exploration and instability
 A feeling of “in-betweenness”
 “Age of possibilities”