Chapter 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence Adolescence and Puberty Adolescence: time between childhood and adulthood with major physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes The socially constructed time between childhood and adulthood Ages 11 through 19 or 20 Puberty: process by which person attains sexual maturity and the ability to reproduce Physical, biological process Specific physical change that occurs during adolescence Physical Development Puberty occurs in two stages Adrenarche: maturing of adrenal glands• The adrenal glands are producing more adrendrins (DHEA)• Adrenal glands secrete DHEA:♦ Body and facial hair♦ Body growth♦ Oilier skin♦ Body odor Gonadarche: maturing of sex organs • The DHEA rises more to adult like levels • You see more estrogen in females• You see more testosterone in males Onset of puberty also dependent on a critical amount of body fat percentage Heightened emotionality and moodiness in early adolescents may be a result of hormonal developments Ex- slamming doors, moody, being upset, depression Related to temperament (some people are predisposed to being high of emotionality) Timing can predict whether or not kids will go through this moodiness Signs of Puberty Primary sex characteristics: organs necessary for reproduction Include: development of ovaries, uterus, vagina (female) Include: development of testes, penis (males) Secondary sex characteristics: physiological signs of maturity that do not involve the sex organs Females we see breast development Boys we see broader shoulders, deeper voice, body hair Skin changes Sequence is more consistent than the timing Some go through earlier than later Some go through later There is a large spread when kids are experiencing this First signs for girls: is breast development First signs for boys: enlargement of the testes Puberty Adolescent growth spurt: rapid increase in height, weight, muscle and bone Lasts about 2 years 2 years earlier for girls than boys• girls 11 to 13 are usually stronger, taller, and heavier than boys the same age• fat accumulate twice as rapidly in girls than in boys♦ why? Girls need more fat on their bodies for reproduction Signs of Sexual Maturity (means they can reproduce) Spermarche: boy’s first ejaculation Average age of 13 Menarche: girl’s first menstruation Vary from ages 10 to 16 Secular trend: trend that can be seen only be observing several generations Decreased age in puberty, increased height and weight Nutrition, healthcare, family relationships, etc. Adolescent Brain Brain still maturing during adolescence Use of differing brain regions (socio-emotional (responding to emotional stimuli -> peer pressure) vs. cognitive control (regulates responses to stimuli, not quite compensating, more of the control center) ) may account for poor choices with adolescents Thrill-seeking, impulsiveness Peer pressure Health Physical activity: activity decreases throughout high school years Main culprit for obesity in adolescence Also related to type 2 diabetes Sleep deprivation Poor sleep patterns can contribute to insomnia Melatonin is secreted later at night during adolescence Need just as much sleep (or more) than middle childhood children Nutrition Compared to teens in other industrialized countries: U.S. teens are eating less healthy food and more unhealthy food U.S. teens are 2x more likely to be overweight Eating Disorders Body Image: descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one’s appearance Girls less satisfied as they gain body fat Boys more satisfied as they gain muscle Anorexia Nervosa: self-starvation (being 25% or more under weight) Other symptoms: perfectionist behavior, distorted body image Bulimia Nervosa: binging and purging Anorexia is much more difficult to treat Drug Use and Abuse Substance Abuse: repeated, harmful use of a substance Substance Dependence: addiction (physical, psychological, or both) to a harmful substance Includes alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, prescription drugs, and over the counter drugs Changing trends of the last few decades Drugs such as over the counter and prescription: Adderall, Vicitn, those are increasing still Other Issues Depression (9% of adolescence have gone through a stage of depression) Not always presented in sadness, can be seen as intense boredom, not excited about going to prom, or things they use to like Death 63% of deaths among adolescents result from motor vehicles crashes, unintential injuries, homicide, and suicide Adolescent brain development and consequences of immature thinking Cognitive Development Piaget: formal operations Ability to think abstractly • Can involve things like: thinking about the future, thinking of plans, what they want in the future, and what if’s? Thinking becomes more adult like (planning for the future) Usually begins around 11 Hypothetical Deductive Reasoning: ability to develop, consider, and test hypothesis You can see children think about what would happen if they didn’t have thumbs, he was thinking about what could occur, and develop a test and observe the world (ex) Also able to play the devils advocate, they can take someone’s point of view, and but they can still disagree with it Able to engage in more if and then thinking• I really want to play soccer, but I really like to play piano. If I go out for the soccer team, then I will have no time for the piano! Information Processing Structural changes: Changes in working memory capacity The increasing amount of knowledge stored in long term memory• Declarative: “knowing that…”♦ Ex- Washington D.C. is the capital of our nation• Procedural: “knowing how to..”♦ Ex- how to ride a bike, how to complete a math problem, etc.• Conceptual: “knowing why”♦ Ex- knowing why the solution is the same if you add or subtract from both sides Functional changes:• Increase in processing speed• Furthering of executive function Language Development By ages 16 to 18, average person knows 80,000 words Social perspective taking: the ability to understand another person’s point of view and level of knowledge and to speak accordingly Adolescents can take
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