Kathleen Stassen Berger
Part V
Chapter Fifteen
Adolescence: Cognitive Development
Neurological Development
Adolescent Thinking
Teaching and Learning
1
Neurological Development
• The limbic system…
– fear, emotional impulse
• matures before the prefrontal cortex.
– planning ahead, emotional regulation
2
• Uneven Growth
– As in the rest of the teenager’s body,
brain growth is uneven.
– The immature prefrontal cortex may
allow: “troublesome adolescent
behavior.”
– Adolescents are capable of rational
thinking.
3
Adolescent Thinking
• Adolescent egocentrism
– Characteristic of adolescent thinking that
leads young people to focus on themselves
to the exclusion of others.
– Young person might believe his or her
thoughts, feelings, and experiences are
unique.
4
• The Invincibility Fable
– Adolescent’s egocentric conviction he or
she cannot be harmed by anything that
might defeat a normal mortal.
• unprotected sex
• drugs
• high speed driving
5
• imaginary audience: Other people
who are watching, and taking note of,
his or her appearance, ideas, and
behavior.
• belief makes many teenagers very selfconscious
6
Egocentrism Reassessed
• Recent research has found that many
adolescents do not feel invincible.
• Egocentrism may signal growth
towards cognitive maturity.
7
Formal Operational Though
• Piaget’s theory, the fourth and final
stage of cognitive development.
• Characterized by more systematic logic
and the ability to think about abstract
ideas.
8
Piaget’s Experiments
9
Abstract Thinking
• deductive reasoning: Reasoning from a
general statement, premise, or principle,
through logical steps, to figure out specifics.
– top-down thinking
• inductive reasoning: Reasoning from one or
more specific experience or facts to a general
conclusion, may be less cognitively advanced
than deduction.
– bottom-up reasoning
10
Two Modes of Thinking
• dual-process model: notion that two
networks exist within the human brain.
– one for emotions and one for analytical processing
of stimuli
11
Two Modes of Thinking
• intuitive thought: Thought that arises
from an emotion or a hunch, beyond
rational.
• analytic thought: Thought that results
from analysis.
–
–
–
–
systematic ranking of pros and cons
risks and consequences
possibilities and facts
depends on logic and rationality
12
Comparing Intuition and Analysis
• Sunk cost fallacy: The belief that if time
or money has already been invested in
something, then more time or money
should be invested.
– trying to fix a “lemon” of a car
– sending more troops to win a losing war
13
Teaching and Learning
• What and how
should teenagers
be taught?
14
• secondary education: The period after
primary education and before tertiary
education.
– about age 12 to18
• some variation by school and by nation
– traditionally grades 7 through 12
15
Middle School
• between elementary and high school
– can begin with 5th grade
– usually ends with 8th grade
• Intermediate middle schools have been
established to educate 6th graders with 7th
and 8th graders.
– puberty earlier
• 9th graders have been reassigned to high
schools.
16
Technology and Cognition
• No longer limited only to developed
nations.
– Teenagers worldwide use the Internet.
– Adults hope that computers will be a
boon to learning.
– Some fear that technology will undercut
respect for adults and schools.
17
The Digital Divide
• Gap between people who
have access to computers
and those who do not.
• In the U.S., age is now
greatest divider between
Internet users and
nonusers.
18
The Transition to a New School
• Changes, even positive ones, are
disruptive.
– Transitions difficult
• decrease person’s ability to function and learn.
– Changing schools just when the growth
spurt and sexual characteristics develop is
bound to create stress.
19
High School
• Adolescents think:
– abstractly, analytically, hypothetically,
logically, personally, emotionally, intuitively
and experientially.
• By high school, curriculum and teaching
style is often analytic and abstract.
20
Focus on the College-Bound
• High-stakes test: an evaluation that is
critical in determining success or failure.
• Developed nations typically require
students to stay in school between 14 and
18.
• In the U.S. and Canada 90% are high
school graduates.
– Most dropouts leave at the age of 17.
21
Student Engagement
• Many students express boredom and
unhappiness with school
• Teachers hired for their expertise in one or
more academic fields, rather than their
ability to relate to adolescents.
22
• possible
improvements:
– keep high schools
small
– 200 to 400 students
– encourage
extracurricular
activities
– reduce harassment
23
• School violence
– Students are less likely to be
destructive or afraid if they:
• are engaged in learning.
• bond with teachers and fellow students.
• are involved in school activities.
24