CHILDHOOD & ADOLESCENCE
Jan 21, 2016
CHILDHOOD & ADOLESCENCE
CHILDHOOD
•Physical Development
•More extensive neural networks continue to
develop in the brain
•Growth rate continues to decline
CHILDHOOD
• Social Development• Interaction with the environment
provides a sense of gender identity• A greater sense of independence
develops as peer relationships begin to become more important• Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial
Development
CHILDHOOD
Cognitive Development-Continues at a rapid rate. There are advances in the areas of:
1. Learning2. Language3. Thinking Skills
-Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
ADOLESCENCE• Begins as early as...• 9 years old (early onset of puberty)/10-
12 years old• Ends around…• 18 – 21 years old
• ***Adolescent development relates to many important societal problems including suicide, teen pregnancy, & eating disorders
ADOLESCENT PHYSICAL & SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
• Physical/Sexual Development• Puberty• Rapid skeletal & sexual maturation• Dramatic physical changes happen
mostly in early adolescence• Brain Changes• Amygdala – processes info about
emotions• Prefrontal Cortex – involved in high
order functioning & decision making
ADOLESCENT PHYSICAL & SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUED
• Hormonal Changes• Testosterone (males) development of genitals,
height increase, voice change• Estradiol (females) breast, uterine & skeletal
development
• Hormonal changes account for at least some of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence• Physical and Socioemotional developments are
intertwined
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Social Development• Peer groups take an increasingly important role• Opposite-sex relationships gradually become
less recreational & more intimate
Erikson believed the key challenge of adolescence is: Identity formation
IDENTITY FORMATION VS IDENTITY CONFUSION
• Faced with challenge of finding out who you are, what you are all about, and where you are going in life• Confronted with new roles & a “young adult” status
• Erikson argued parents should allow teens time to explore different roles & paths & those who explore can reach some resolution and emerge with a new healthy sense of self• Those who are denied this might become withdrawn & isolated
from peers
ADOLESCENCE: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Cognitive Development• Capability for logical, hypothetical and
introspective thinking develops• Growing awareness of one’s mental
processes develops -> metacognition• Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Thinking