DEP 4305 Psychology of Adolescence
Fall, 2012
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Email:
Office:
Phone:
Office Hours:
smathews@uwf.edu
Pensacola Campus: Building 41, Room 212
850.474.2033
Wednesday 1:00-4:00; or by appointment
Textbook:
Arnett, J.J. (2013) Adolescence and emerging adulthood, 5th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall.
Course Orientation:
My interest in adolescence as a time of life for more intense study arose from several
experiences. First, as a young researcher conducting research in the middle school
environment I wondered why young adolescents in middle school who clearly possessed
the skills and knowledge necessary for success did not see their studies as their primary
focus. A second experience that motivated me to pursue adolescence as a focus was with
a group of students who had been reassigned from their original schools to an alternative
school. These students came from a variety of backgrounds, but most had experienced
combinations of the following problems: poverty, family disruption, multiple relocations,
death of significant others, substance abuse, delinquency, or repeated failure in school.
Many were pregnant or parenting adolescent females. I wondered, as I spent time with
these young people, how I might help them recapture the energy and possibilities of their
youth.
A third set of experiences had to do with a community-based project I developed within a
federally subsidized apartment complex in our urban environment. Here, we welcomed
young people of all ages into an apartment converted into an educational and recreational
center. While racially and economically, there were many similarities among the young
people and their families, as we became acquainted with the community at large, a broad
range of diversity emerged. The young people who came to us and their families
reflected a wide range of motivation for succeeding in school, a wide range of life
experiences, and a wide range of skills and strategies with which to navigate their
seemingly challenging environment. This led to the question of how one family
succeeded in ways typically recognized by the dominant culture while another family in
very similar circumstances experienced multiple difficulties and less than adaptive
outcomes.
Another set of experiences that led me to wonder about the transitions across the
adolescent years as we defined them in our culture is the experiences I encounter as a
faculty member at The University of West Florida. As I encounter undergraduate students
who are in their late teens and early twenties, I observe a range of maturity, a range of
readiness for the responsibilities of the university and adult life. We have long ignored
the period of university life as a significant developmental period. The same applies to
your age-mates who choose other pathways such as full time work, technical or
vocational school, or home-making and family life instead of college.
Finally, through the past twelve years, I have worked rather with a project that took me
to cultures as diverse as Central Asia; the tumultuous Balkans; the Baltics; Central
and Eastern Europe, in their post-Soviet transitions; and, most recently, Liberia, in
its post-war emergence and Ethiopia, as it comes to grips with a region engaged in
civil war. As I saw adolescents and their families trying to manage the search for
identity that frequently occurs during adolescence while at the same time living with a
culture in the midst of major transitions, I wondered how the time we call adolescence
might be experienced. It is perhaps this final set of experiences that has led me to
consider the complex set of problems and opportunities that accompany the period of
time we call adolescence.
As we move through the course, we will read about, discuss, and create ways to
understand the transition across the adolescent years within a framework that examines
individuals’ courses of development within the biological, social, cultural, emotional, and
intellectual domains. Our readings and discussions will examine the role of both
individual and cultural factors impacting development. We will address the intersection
of the major forces in the adolescent’s life, including family, culture, school, peers,
emerging sexuality, and media. As we examine this intersection of forces, we will seek to
better understand how to apply this knowledge in key contexts such as family, school,
peer groups, and other cultural institutions. It is upon these bases that we will create and
extend our own understandings of adolescence.
At times, we will read about and discuss controversial topics and perspectives. It is in
controversy that learning occurs. If you feel challenged in your previously held view and
beliefs, then the work will be worthwhile. Educational experiences that only validate our
prior knowledge, beliefs, and values without calling them to question has little place in
higher education (or any educational level from my perspective). We will seek to
challenge without demeaning and to base our discussions on sound scientific principles
and clear logic rather than our own untested personal opinions.
Class Format: Lecture/Discussion
This course will be a blend of traditional lecture and classroom discussion in large group
and small group formats. Given the length of each class we will typically have a lecture at the
beginning of each class followed by large and small group activities. Thus, attendance is required
in order to gain complete credit for all in-class activities (see policy on make-up examinations
and activities). Lectures will be based on assigned readings and more current research produced
since the publication of your text. Thus, simply reading the text, while necessary will not be
sufficient for maximum credit on the examinations. There will be two examinations, one
following chapters 1, 2, and 3 and the other following chapters 4, 5, and 6. These chapters cover
what I consider to be the foundation knowledge for understanding the contexts in which
adolescents mature.
Course Plan: DEP 4305: Psychology of Adolescence
Unit 1: Biological and Cognitive Foundations of Adolescence
 Chapter 1: Introduction
 Chapter 2: Biological Foundations
 Chapter 3: Cognitive Foundations
 Examination I (Chapters 1,2 & 3)
Unit 2: Psychological and Cultural Foundations
 Chapter 4: Cultural Beliefs
 Chapter 5: Gender
 Chapter 6: The Self
 Examination II (Chapters 4, 5, & 6)
Applications of Foundation Knowledge: Contexts of Adolescence
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Chapter 7: Family Relationships
Chapter 8: Friends and Peers
Chapter 9: Love and Sexuality
Chapter 10: School
Chapter 11: Work
Chapter 12: Media
Chapter 13: Problems
Expectations:
We expect all participants to complete readings prior to the day for which they are
assigned. We expect all students to have read the guiding questions for each chapter and
to have prepared a response for discussion during class meetings.
Generally, we do not allow make-up examinations. In the case of illness or death in your
family, documentation is required prior to the administration of a make-up exam or
permission to submit an assignment late.
If you are more than five minutes late for class please do not interrupt by coming in
late. You may wish to obtain notes from a classmate. Your presence during class will
contribute to participation points during class discussion.
We expect all participants to read and abide by the University of West Florida’s
guidelines for academic honesty, plagiarism, and student conduct. Please see the section
of the student handbook on these topics as well as the American Psychological
Association’s website on ethics.
We expect all students to participate in large group and small group discussions and to
have prepared responses to the guiding questions for discussions. Discussions are
intended to further learning and critical analysis of material we cover in class lectures and
readings. The discussions, while sometimes spirited, must remain civil.
ALL CELL PHONES AND PAGERS MUST BE IN THE OFF POSITION PRIOR
TO THE BEGINNING OF CLASS. SHOULD YOUR CELL PHONE OR PAGER
RING, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE CLASS IMMEDIATELY AND
WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN DURING THAT CLASS SESSION.
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Student Learning Outcomes for DEP 4305, Psychology of Adolescence:
Demonstrate knowledge of content related to intellectual, emotional, social, and
biological changes across adolescence;
o Evaluation: examinations, quizzes, discussions
Demonstrate understandings of changing roles of adolescents within the family, peer
group, school, and a broad range of cultures;
o Evaluation: examinations, quizzes, discussions
Demonstrate understandings of the relationships among race, gender, sexual orientation,
and social status and the adolescent’s wellbeing across the adolescent years;
o Evaluation: examinations, quizzes, discussions
Apply understandings developed across the course (see above outcomes) to contemporary
issues or problems that impact the transition through adolescence within the intellectual,
emotional, social/cultural, and/or biological domains.
o Evaluation:, discussions
Demonstrate critical reading and thinking skills
o Evaluation: discussion.
Strategies for Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
The evaluation of class learning outcomes will consist of 3 multiple choice tests, in class
group discussions, and mini-quizzes at the beginning of selected classes. These
assignments total 100 possible points of earned credit toward your grade.
Examinations:
There will be 2 examinations, each worth 20% of your grade for a total of 40% of
the grade determined by quizzes. The quizzes will be comprised of multiple
choice items with which you are likely familiar. The first examination will cover
chapters 1, 2, and 3 and the second will cover chapters 4, 5, and 6. These six
chapters comprise the core knowledge base on which the following chapters are
based.
Quizzes:
There are 5 quizzes, each worth 10% for a total of 50% of the final grade. The
quizzes are comprised of 5 questions each and cover key points in each of the
chapters for which they are assigned (see course schedule below). The quizzes
will be administered at the beginning of each class and are designed to provide
incentives for having read the chapters prior to class. The nature of the timing of
the quizzes is to support on-time arrivals.
Attendance/Participation:
We will use a rubric for evaluating in-class and on-line discussions across the
term. They will be based on instructor/GA observations. These rubrics will be
distributed the beginning of the second week of class (total 10% of your grade).
University Policy on Academic Conduct:
Academic honesty and integrity are major components of education here at UWF. Our values do
not condone any behavior that takes away from that academic honesty and integrity. As we
complete our educational experiences, we neither engage in nor tolerate cheating on examinations
or assignments or plagiarizing the work of others. See UWF Student Handbook policy and
information on Academic Conduct.
Academic honesty and integrity are serious and violations will be dealt with immediately and to
the fullest extent of UWF policy. The UWF Student Handbook contains information about
procedures and policies for handling cases of academic misconduct.
Assistance for Students with Special Needs:
Students with special needs or who require special accommodations for examinations or other
assignments should contact the Director of Disabled Student Services (DSS). This office will
provide a letter for the instructor specifying recommended accommodations.
Email: dss@uwf.edu Phone 474-2387.
Distribution of Assignment/Examination Credit:
Examinations (2 examinations—20% per exam):
Quiz (5 quizzes—10% per quiz)
Attendance and participation
Total
Grading Scale:
A 93~100, A- 90~92
B+ 87~ 89, B 83~86, B- 80~82
C+ 77~79, C 73~76, C- 70~72
D+ 67~69, D 60~66 F < 60
40%
50%
10%
100%
DEP 4305 Initial Class Schedule, Assignments, and Examination Dates
Date
Reading Assignment
Class Activities/Assignments Due
Aug 29 Chapter 1, Introduction
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Sept 5
Chapter 2, Biological
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Foundations
Sept 12 Chapter 3, Cognitive
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Foundations
Sept 19 Exam I
Sept 26 Chapter 4, Cultural Beliefs
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Oct 3
Chapter 5, Gender
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Oct 10
Chapter 6, The Self
Lecture/Discussion/Guiding Questions
Oct 17
Exam 2
Oct 24
Oct 31
Nov 7
Nov 14
Nov 21
Chapter 7, Family Relationships
Chapter 8, Friends and Peers
Chapter 9, Love and Sexuality
Chapter 10, School
Chapter 11, Work
Nov 28
Dec 5
Chapter 12, Media
Chapter 13, Problems and
Resilience
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion
Guiding questions assigned; individual
work; Due November 28
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion
Quiz/Guest Speaker/Discussion