Physical and Cognitive
Development
Adolescence
Adolescence
• Rousseau and Hall viewed adolescence as a time
of great upheaval and turbulence
• Freud- the genital stage- period in which
instinctive drives reawaken and shift to the
genital region. Psychological conflict and
volatile, unpredictable behavior
• Beginning adolescence is marked by pubertybiological changes that lead to an adult size body
and sexual maturity
Adolescence and the
Environment
• Overall rate of severe psychological disturbance
rises only slightly from childhood to
adolescence- about 20% (emotional disturbance
not routine feature of adolescence)
• Mead- the social environment was judged to be
entirely responsible for the negative and positive
experiences in teenagers
• Results of Mead’s work- teen years need not be a
time of emotional turmoil and greater attention
should be paid to social and cultural influences
Balanced point of view
• Adolescence is both biologically and
socially determined
• The length of adolescence varies among
cultures-simpler societies may have shorter
adolescence
• Societies that require many years of
education for successful economic life
have greater extended adolescence period.
Puberty
• Puberty growth is regulated genetically
influenced hormonal processes.
• Girls on average reach puberty 2 years
earlier than boys
• Current research is indicating that girls
may be reaching puberty at earlier rates
(Time article,Early Puberty)
Hormonal Changes
• Growth hormone (GH) and thyroxine contribute
to the gains in body size and completion of
skeletal maturation
• Estrogens are typically thought of as female
hormones and androgens as male hormones-both
types of hormones are present in each sex
• Testosterone- the androgen released in large
quantities by a boy’s testes- leads to muscle
growth, body and facial hair, etc.
• Estrogens-development of girl’s breasts, uterus,
and vagina; female proportions, accumulation of
fat, and beginning of menstrual cycle
Puberty Changes-Boys
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Body size generally complete by 17 ½ yrs
Broadening of shoulders
Less fat in arms and legs
Larger skeletal muscles, heart and lung capacity
Spurt in strength, speed and endurance
Enlargement of testes and penis- one of 1st signs
of puberty; development of pubic and underarm
hair
• Voice deepens
• Spermarche-first ejaculation of seminal fluidabout 13 yrs of age
Puberty Changes -Girls
• Growth spurt usually complete by 16
• Broadening of hips
• Around age 8- start to add more fat in arms legs
and trunk
• Gross motor development gains are slow and
gradual, leveling off at about 14 yrs
• Development of breast-one of 1st signs of puberty
• Pubic and underarm hair appears
• Menarche- first menstruation-about 12 yrs in
North American girls
Puberty Timing
• Heredity is partly responsible for puberty timing
• Nutrition and exercise also contribute
• Physical health plays a role especially in other
poverty-stricken countries
• Secular trend-generational change in puberty
timing (improvement of health care, diet and
sanitation) decrease in menarche age
• Secular trend is limited by genetic trend of
species
Reactions to Puberty
• Past generations-traumatic and disturbing
• Girls today –mixture of positive and negative
emotions-depends on prior knowledge and family
members support
• Boys know about ejaculation but few get
information from parents- most get info from
reading material
• Boys get less social support
• Rite of passage- a community wide event that
mark changes in privilege and responsibility
• Western culture-little formal recognition
Parent-Child Relationships
• Bickering and standoffs increase
• Physical departure from family and
psychological distancing from parents
• Adolescence demonstrate new powers of
reasoning possible reason for bickering
Early vs Late Maturation
• Early Maturing boys- relaxed, independent, selfconfident and physically attractive
• Early Maturing girls- emotional and social
difficulties, withdrawn, lacking self-confidence
and psychologically stressed
• Late maturing boys- anxious, overly talkative,
attention-seeking behavior
• Late maturing girls- physically attractive, lively,
sociable and leaders in school.
• Society favors- girlish shape for girls (late
developer) and tall, broad-shouldered and
muscular-early developed boys
Long Term Consequences
Varies among cultures
• Early maturing girls and late maturing boys have
a difficulty “fitting in” because they are at the
extremes of physical development
• Teens feel most comfortable with peers that
match their own biological maturity
• Early maturing teens of both sexes seek out older
companions-may have unfavorable consequences
• Early maturing boys and late maturing girls
admired in teen years may become rigid,
conforming and discontented adults
• Late maturing boys and early maturing girls less
stressed in teen years became independent,
flexible and cognitively competent
Nutritional Needs of Teens
• During growth spurt, boys require about 2,700
calories a day and much more protein
• Girls require about 2200 calories and somewhat
less protein
• Iron deficiency- most common problem in
adolescence
• Calcium, riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and magnesium
may be limited in diet as well
• Fad diets are too limited in nutrients and calories
to be healthy for teens
Eating Disorders
• At risk-girls with dissatisfied body images,
growing up in economically advantaged
homes where cultural concerns are weight
and thinness
Anorexia nervosa
• Parents have high expectations for achievement
and social acceptance, overprotective and
controlling
Anorexia nervosa- individuals starve themselves
because of compulsive fear of getting fat; 1 in 50
girls; peak age 14 and 18
Lose between 25% to 50% of body weight and
look painfully thin
Symptoms- cessation of menstruation, or
nonoccurrence of menarche, pale skin, brittle
discolored nails, fine dark hair all over body and
sensitivity to cold
Bulimia
• Individuals go on eating binges following by
deliberate vomiting, other purging techniques
such as heavy doses laxatives and strict dieting
• Repeated vomiting causes erosion of tooth
enamel, and can cause life threatening damage to
the throat and stomach
• More common than anorexia, 5% bulimic girls
have previously been anorexic
• Bulimic are not just impulsive eaters; they lack
self-control in other areas of their lives
• Abnormal eating habits, feeling depressed, and
guilty about eating-usually easier to treat than
anorexia
Sexual Activity
• American parents typically give children little
information about sex, discourage them from
engaging in sex play and rarely talk about sex in
their presence.
• Teens may receive contradictory and confusing
messages about sex.
• Adults emphasize that sex at a young age and
outside if marriage is wrong; Broader social
environments emphasizes the excitement and
romanticism of sex
• Over past 30 years sexual attitudes are more
liberal
Sexually Active Teens
• Linked to –early physical maturation,
parental separation and divorce, large
family size, sexually activity of friends,
and older siblings, poor school
performance, lower educational
aspirations, and tendency to engage in
norm-violating acts
Sexual Orientation
• 3 to6 % of young people discover they are
lesbian or gay
• Heredity may contribute to homosexuality
• Stereotypes and misconceptions continue
to be widespread
STDs
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDS) are
highest among teens 1 out 6 each year
• Teens at greatest danger- poverty stricken
teens with sense of hopelessness
Most serious STD- Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Teen Pregnancy
• >900,00 teens get pregnant in US
30,000 are under 15years
Teen Moms
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Less likely to finish high school
Less likely to get married
More likely to be on welfare
Babies are more likely to have prenatal
problems,complications and LBW
• Know less about Child Development,
positive parenting, and proper interaction
with babies
Community Prevention of Teen
Pregnancy
• Inform teens about facts of anatomy, sex
and reproduction
• Promote abstinence and provide
information about birth control
• Encourage teens to look forward to
promising future
Substance Abuse
• By 14 yrs of age, 56% teens have already
tried smoking
• 81% drinking, 39% at least one illegal drug
• Majority are substance experimenters are
psychologically healthy, sociable and
inquisitive
Substance Abusers
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Troubled teens
Peer encouragement
Mental health problems
Family drug use
Lack of parental involvement
Poor school performance
Prevention
• School-based programs promoting
effective parenting, educating students
about drugs and dangers.
• Teaching teens to resist peer pressure
• There is a relapse rate
Cognitive Development
• Piaget’s –formal operational stage-abstract
scientific thinking
• Hypothetico-deductive reasoning- problem
solving strategy- begins with general
theory and deduce specific hypotheses
which is tested
• Concrete operational children experiment
unsystematically.
Formal Operation Stage
• Propositional thought-formal operational
reasoning in which teens assess logic of
verbal statements without referring to realworld circumstances
• Piaget agreed that language plays a
significant part of adolescent development
due to reasoning about abstract concepts
Formal Operations
• About 40% to 60% of college students fail
Piaget’s formal operational problems
• Abstract thinking comes from extensive
experience in that area
• Some villages and tribal societies do not
include formal operations
Cognitive Development of Teens
• Can argue more effectively (page 374)
• Become more self-conscious and selffocused (374-375)
• Become more idealistic and critical (375376)
• Become better at everyday planning and
decision making (376)