CHAPTER 11
PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
IN ADOLESCENCE
Summary Outline
I.
II.
How should we define adolescence?
A. Four traits of the adolescent transition
1.
Relative plasticity
2.
Relationism
3.
Historical embeddedness
4.
Diversity and individual differences
B. When does adolescence start?
C. G. Stanley Hall
1.
Psychological theory of teenage development
2.
Storm and stress
3.
Criticisms of Hall’s work
Theories of adolescence
A. Anna Freud’s psychological theory
1.
Restoration of the delicate balance between the ego and the id
2.
Adolescent defense mechanisms
a.
Asceticism
b.
Intellectualization
B. Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory
1.
Achieving a state of identity
a.
Identity crisis
b.
Repudiation of choices
c.
Identity confusion
d.
The moratorium of youth
e.
Premature foreclosure
2.
Marcia’s theory of identity status
a.
Two factors in the attainment of a mature identity
(1) Person must undergo several crises
(2) Person must come to a commitment
b.
Four possible statuses
(1) Identity confusion
(2) Identity foreclosure
(3) Identity moratorium
(4) Identity achievement
C. John Hill’s biopsychosocial theory
1.
Detachment-autonomy
2.
Sexuality
3.
Intimacy
4.
Achievement motivation and behavior
5.
Identity crisis and its resolution
76
III.
Physical development
A. Your reproductive system
1.
The female sexual system
a.
Bartholin’s glands
b.
Cervix
c.
Clitoris
d.
Fallopian tubes
e.
Fimbriae
f.
Hymen
g.
Labia majora
h.
Labia minora
i.
Mons pubis or mons veneris
j.
Ova
k.
Ovaries
l.
Pituitary gland
m. Ureter
n.
Urethra
o.
Uterus
p.
Vulva
2.
The male sexual system
a.
Cowper’s glands
b.
Epididymis
c.
Foreskin
d.
Glans penis
e.
Pituitary gland
f.
Prostate glands
g.
Scrotum
h.
Testes
i.
Ureter
j.
Urethra
k.
Vas deferens
B. When does puberty start?
1.
Sequences of physiological change
2.
Psychological impact of puberty
C. The effects of timing on puberty
1.
The early-maturing female: Ann
2.
The average-maturing female: Beth
3.
The late-maturing female: Cathy
4.
The early-maturing male: Al
5.
The average-maturing male: Bob
6.
The late-maturing male: Chuck
D. The secular trend
1.
Average age of onset is 12.5 years
2.
Role of nutrition, sanitation, and health care
3.
Normal age ranges of puberty
77
E.
Body image and eating disorders
1.
Anorexia nervosa
2.
Bulimia nervosa
3.
The athletic body and eating disorders
F. The role of stress
1.
Relationship to mental illness
2.
Child labor law prohibitions
IV. Cognitive development
A. Variables in cognitive development: Piaget
1.
Review of Piaget’s stages
2.
Culture and gender variation
a.
Gilligan’s goals of development
3.
Gender and formal operations
a.
Math
B. Elkind’s theory of adolescent egocentrism
1.
Imaginary audience
2.
Personal fable
C. Critical thinking
1.
Convergent thinking
2.
Divergent thinking
D. Creative thinking
1.
Creativity, giftedness, and the IQ
a.
Precociousness
b.
Prodigiousness
E. Mental health issues
1.
Impact of family environment
2.
Adolescent suicide
a.
Myths
b.
Warning signs
3.
Types of mental disorders
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to complete the following goals:
1.
Identify and describe the criteria for a definition of adolescence.
2.
Describe Hall’s theory of adolescent development.
3.
Summarize Anna Freud’s view of adolescence.
4.
Examine Erikson’s theory of adolescence, including a discussion of the moratorium of
youth and premature foreclosure.
5.
Identify and explain Marcia’s identity statuses.
6.
Examine Hill’s biopsychosocial theory of adolescence.
78
7.
Identify the important parts of the male and female reproductive systems, and explain their
functions.
8.
Define puberty and list the normal sequence of events in puberty for males and females.
9.
Describe the influence of timing on an individual adolescent’s emotional reactions to the
physical changes of puberty.
10.
Define secular trend and the factors thought to influence it.
11.
Distinguish between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and discuss eating disorders in
athletes.
12.
Identify Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, and examine variables in cognitive
development.
13.
Define Elkind’s adolescent egocentrism, and describe the components of imaginary
audience and personal fable.
14.
Distinguish between convergent and divergent thinking, and define creative thinking.
15.
Use Felman’s understanding of precociousness and prodigiousness as a way of
understanding genius, and list Dacey’s guidelines for improving creativity.
16.
Examine the stresses and mental health issues of adolescence.
17.
Address the myths and warning signs of adolescent suicide.
Key Terms
adolescent egocentrism
anorexia nervosa
bulimia nervosa
convergent thinking
divergent thinking
hormonal balance
identity crisis
identity status
imaginary audience
maturation
maximum growth spurt
menarche
normal range of development
personal fable
precociousness
prodigiousness
puberty
repudiation
secular trend
state of identity
transition-linked turning points
Lecture Suggestions
1.
Adopting an Identity Status
Use the college experience in the discussion of adolescent psychosocial development. First,
present material on Erik Erikson’s ideas about identity formation in the adolescent years. Next,
describe James Marcia’s four identity statuses. It is important to emphasize the presence or
absence of crisis and commitment for each of the four statuses. Provide examples for each status.
79
Ask students to describe what the college experience is like for individuals in each of these four
statuses. For example, both identity confusion and identity moratorium individuals might be
“undeclared majors,” but their attitude and behaviors would differ.
Pose the following question to the class: How might a person who is likely to join the family
business reach identity achievement instead of identity foreclosure? How might parents
encourage this route? What do the parents risk if they encourage this route?
80
2.
Teaching Critical Thinking
“Critical thinking” is the buzzword in education today. It is important to point out to students that
critical thinking is not meant to be taught in isolation. Many textbooks and courses have sprung
up, touting the critical thinking applications accompanying the book or course. Critical thinking
involves cognitive skills such as thinking logically, analyzing information, and evaluating and
synthesizing new ideas. In their study of college students, Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) found
that, by the end of their first year in college, students scored significantly higher on critical
thinking tests than their peers who did not attend college. The authors noted that gains in critical
thinking support research conducted on college students more than 40 years ago. Interestingly,
though, few studies have examined how critical thinking emerges in college students after the
first year. Pascarella and Terenzini’s research suggests that changes in critical thinking between
the first and last year of college are not significant.
Ask students to consider their own college courses. What strategies do they recall were used by
instructors to enhance critical thinking skills? What learning events do they remember most
vividly?
Reference:
Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights
from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
Encouraging Creativity in Schools: An Investment Theory of Creativity
Robert Sternberg and Todd Lubart (1991) propose an “investment theory of creativity.” Their
basic premise is that, with a creative investment, people should “buy low and sell high.” In other
words, the greatest creative contributions can be made with ideas that are undervalued.
According to this theory, developing creativity involves teaching individuals to use six resources:
(1) intelligence, (2) knowledge, (3) intellectual style, (4) personality, (5) motivation, and (6)
environmental context. The authors describe the resources for creativity and discuss ways to help
students develop these resources.
Intelligence. Two main aspects of intelligence are relevant to creativity. First, the ability to define
and redefine problems involves seeing an old problem in a new way. But in order to redefine a
problem, a student has to have the opportunity to define a problem in the first place, which
schools don’t often do. If schools are going to emphasize creative definition and redefinition of
problems, students need to be given some of the control teachers have. Teachers need to help
them develop their skills in defining and redefining problems, not just in solving them. Another
aspect of intelligence relevant to creativity is the ability to think insightfully. Problems requiring
insightful solution are almost always ill-structured, meaning that there are no readily available
paths to solution. But the problems presented in schools, such as standardized tests and textbook
problems, are usually well-structured, with a clear path to an expedient solution.
Knowledge. The authors identify two concerns regarding the extent to which knowledge is likely
to lead to creativity in schools. First, students do not generally learn knowledge in a way that is
useful to them. The context in which students acquire knowledge is often so different from the
81
context in which they must use it in real life that their knowledge is simply unavailable. Second,
students are not taught why the knowledge they are learning is important to them.
82
Intellectual styles. Intellectual styles are the ways in which people choose to use their intelligence
and their knowledge. Creative people are likely to adopt a legislative style, which means that they
enjoy formulating problems and creating new systems of rules and new ways of seeing things.
The creative person is also likely to have a global perspective on problems.
Personality. Creative people share certain personality attributes, including tolerance for
ambiguity, willingness to surmount obstacles and persevere, willingness to grow, willingness to
take risks, and courage of one’s convictions.
Motivation. Two kinds of motivation play an important part in creativity: intrinsic motivation and
the motivation to excel. Research suggests that extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation.
But the main way that schools motivate students is through grades. Schools vary in the extent to
which they encourage students to excel. Unfortunately, the kind of excellence that encourages
creativity is rare. Schools usually promote excellence in grades, which generally does not require
great creativity to attain, and they advocate excellence in sports or in extracurricular activities.
There is nothing wrong with these goals, but seeking such excellence does not foster creativity,
and may even interfere with it.
Environmental context. Three points are worth consideration: sparking creative ideas,
encouraging follow-up of these ideas, and evaluating and rewarding creative ideas. Schools
provide environments that encourage learning about and dealing with existing concepts rather
than inventing new ones. A lot of emphasis is placed on memorization and some on analysis, but
little emphasis is given to creative synthesis. And students are rarely excused from normal
requirements in order to pursue a special interest of their own. On school report cards, creativity
is not valued. Although the teacher may value creativity, it is not evaluated on the report card.
The authors identify several things that schools can do to foster creativity:
•
Let students define problems, rather than teachers almost always doing this for them.
•
Put more emphasis on ill-structured rather than well-structured problems.
•
Encourage a legislative style, by providing assignments that encourage students to see
things in new ways.
•
Teach knowledge for use, rather than for exams.
•
Emphasize flexibility in using knowledge, rather than recall.
•
Encourage risk-taking and other personality attributes associated with creativity.
•
Put more emphasis on motivating children intrinsically rather than through grades.
•
Reward creativity.
Does teaching for creativity actually work? The effectiveness of such teaching has been
demonstrated. After five weeks of insight training involving insight problems in language arts,
mathematics, science, and social studies, students in grades four through six displayed significant
improvements over an untrained control group on insight skills and general intelligence. The
83
training also transferred to insight problems beyond those covered in the course. The students
maintained these gains when tested a year later.
A creative way to present a lecture based on Sternberg and Lubart’s ideas for teaching creativity
is to begin the class by asking students what they would like to know about problem-solving
skills and abilities. Then, have students go through the steps of problem solving using the DUPE
model: Determine the nature of the problem, Understand the nature of the problem, Plan a
solution, and Evaluate the plan. Allow the class to problem solve based on the suggestions of
Sternberg and Lubart about how to foster creativity. Then, incorporate their defined problem into
a class discussion of how to foster creativity in the classroom.
Reference:
Sternberg, R.J., & Lubart, T.I. (1991). Creating creative minds. Phi Delta Kappan, 72, 608–614.
Instructor’s CD-ROM Resource Activities
1.
2.
Chapter 13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
E.
The Influence of the Media on Body Image
F.
Creating a Web Site for Adolescents
G.
Cyberconference with Teachers
H.
A Comparison of Intelligence Tests for Children and Adolescents
Chapter 14 Socioemotional Development in Adolescence
A.
Student Extracurricular Experiences
B.
Student Part-Time Employment Experiences
C.
Adolescent Employment as Viewed by High School Guidance Counselors
Classroom or Student Activities
1.
Identity Status: Analysis of Selected Short Stories
Albert Camus’s “The Artist at Work” deals with an identity crisis of an artist when he becomes
famous. Some biographers of Camus suggest that this short story reflects Camus’s own reaction
to being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Alice Walker’s “Entertaining God” is another
short story useful for exploring identity status. This story is about an African-American woman
who, after losing her son, finds a career as a poet. In Kate Chopin’s “A Pair of Silk Stockings,”
the heroine, a self-sacrificing mother and wife, goes on a self-indulgence spree after an encounter
with a pair of silk stockings. “A Little Cloud,” one of the tales from Dubliners by James Joyce,
presents two college friends meeting several years later. One can look at the story’s two main
characters as being in identity foreclosure or identity moratorium. These short stories provide
some interesting glimpses of people struggling with their identity.
2.
Convergent and Divergent Thinking Tasks
84
Discuss the various theories of intellectual development. Give students two problems to work
on—a convergent task (such as a logical task with one solution) and a divergent task (such as
brainstorming as many uses for a common item as possible). Have students work on the
problems for 10 minutes. Then, have them discuss the differences in how they approached the
two problems, how they experienced them differently, and other differences they noticed.
Introduce the concepts of convergent and divergent thinking. Have students suggest how both
kinds of thinking are needed.
3.
Preventing Eating Disorders
Discuss how early versus late maturation has different effects on female body image. Introduce
two eating disorders that affect many adolescent women: anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Talk
about the psychological reasons for eating disorders, symptoms, and treatment paradigms. Ask
students why female adolescents are most vulnerable to eating disorders.
Discuss the American obsession with weight, physical attractiveness, food, fat grams, and so on.
Assign students to conduct a literature search to locate at least three articles measuring the impact
of media and commercial marketing practices on eating disorders and body image in adolescents.
Based on the information gleaned from the literature search, have students work in small groups
to develop a media campaign based on social marketing strategies designed to prevent eating
disorders.
A second possibility is to conduct a debate with students on the impact of advertising on
women’s body image. Assign one group of students to act in the role of advertisers stating they
are not perpetuating unrealistic and unhealthy images of women and have a second group
represent a nonprofit grassroots organization attempting to place controls on the advertising
industry.
4.
Career-Related Activities
A. Imagine you are a crisis counselor at your county Crisis Hotline. You are asked to give a
one-hour talk for Parents Night at a local high school on teens and suicide. Make an outline for
the talk you would give, stressing suicide rates, suicide warnings, and suicide prevention.
B. Imagine you are a guidance counselor’s aide at a large high school. Your supervisor asks
you to prepare a talk for out-going Seniors on the psychosocial development of identity. Sketch
out what your talk would cover, including G. Stanley Hall, Anna Freud, Erik Erikson, John Hill,
and James Marcia’s contributions to identity theory of adolescence.
Questions for Review and Discussion
1.
Summarize traits that describe the transition from childhood to adolescence.
2.
G. Stanley Hall, the “Father of Adolescent Psychology,” described adolescence as a time of
“storm and stress.” Review why this concept is still prevalent, especially in the popular
press, and whether it has any merit.
3.
What was Anna Freud’s contribution to adolescent psychology?
85
4.
Label the parts of the female and male reproductive systems.
5.
Identify and define Marcia’s four identity statuses. Provide a hypothetical example of a
person who has adopted each type of status.
6.
Summarize Hill’s biopsychosocial theory of adolescence.
7.
Describe the influence of timing on an individual adolescent’s emotional reactions to the
physical changes of puberty. Recall your own onset of puberty. How was it a positive or
negative experience for you? What factors contributed to whether it was positive or not?
8.
What is the secular trend? Is it likely to continue? Why or why not?
9.
Distinguish between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. What are the concerns for
eating disorders in athletes?
10.
Identify the two components of adolescent egocentrism and provide examples of each.
11.
Distinguish between critical and creative thinking, and discuss the importance of each.
12.
How does Feldman’s understanding of the difference between prodigiousness and
precociousness give us a better understanding of giftedness?
13.
Discuss the myths of adolescent suicide.
Web Site Resources
Child Development
www.srcd.org
Developmental Psychology
www.apa.org/journals/dev.html
Adolescent Directory On-Line
http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.html
Jean Piaget
www.education.indiana.edu/~p540/webcourse/
develop.html
www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1991/5/
Adolescent Development
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/shpps/factsh
eets/fs01_students_pc_disabilities.htm
Students with Cognitive and Physical
Disabilities
www.stress.org
American Institute on Stress
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible
_gallery.html
The Visible Human Project
www.eating-disorders.com
Center for Eating Disorders
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPa
ge_ID=337
Eating Disorders
Video Resources
1.
Cognitive Development, 60 minutes, color
86