Adolescenc
e
Physical
Puberty:
 Growth spurt
 Maturation of
sexual organs
(primary sex
characteristics)
 Appearance of
body hair, pubic
hair, changes in
voice for males,
breast growth in
females, etc.
(secondary sex
characteristics)
 Maturation of
frontal lobe
occurs across the
adolescent years
into young
adulthood
Chapter 4: Human Development: Adolescence and Adulthood
Cognitive
Social
Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive
Erikson’s Psychosocial Development:
Development:
 Identity vs. Role Diffusion
 Formal Operational Thought
o Begins to explore
o Abstract thought
options for identity
o Hypothetical
o Begins to see peers as
Reasoning
vehicles for exploration
o Reasoning beyond
 Marcia’s Identity Status
one’s own experiences
o Diffuse—neither
committed to an identity
Information Processing:
nor exploring options
 Increase in ability to monitor
(late childhood)
one’s own thoughts
o Moratorium—exploring
outside one’s family of
 Ability to make inferences
origin (e.g. values, dress,
using abstract concepts
music) but not yet
 Increase in knowledge base
committed.
o Foreclosure—
Social Outcomes of Cognitive
committed to an identity
Development in Adolescence:
without obvious
 Questioning status quo of faith,
exploration
values, beliefs
o Achieved—committed
 Questioning social injustice
to an identity following
 Challenge authoritarian
exploration; those who
standpoints
are most fulfilled tend to
continue to be open for
exploration
Moral Development
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development:
 Based on rationale
for decisions about
moral dilemma;
 Preconventional:
Morality is based on the
outcome of some act.
Cost-Benefit
 Conventional:
Morality is based on
rules or some externally
sanctioned code
 Postconventional:
Morality is based on a
set of universal
principles that
transcend time, space,
and context
Adolescence is a relatively new period of development that emerged largely as a result of the industrial revolutions and the fluctuation
in the need for a labor force. Generally speaking, adolescence is not the time of crisis-filled turmoil. Most make the transition with
relative