Adolescent development
Aditya Roy
DS502AdolescentDevelopmentforEducatorsWeekonepowerpoints1.pptxThe Field of Adolescent Development
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Developmental Psychology
The study of continuities and changes over time
Biologic
Experiential/learning
Moral/spiritual
Social
Emotional
Cognitive
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Particular Challenges of the Study of Universal Experience
Blind spots
Unexamined assumptions
Theoretical lenses
Evidence-based practice
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What Helps in the Study of Universal Experience
Distance
Perspective
Testing assumptions
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Three Goals in the Study of Adolescent Development
To describe complex development, paying particular attention to relationships between various aspects of adolescent lived-experiences
To explain development paying particular attention to ways that change occurs in a particular direction
To optimize development, paying particular attention to resilience and how professionals can promote strength and coping
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Goal I: To Describe Complex Development
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Models: To describe complex development, paying particular attention to relationships between various aspects of adolescent’s lived-experiences
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The Ecological Model: Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979)
Summarizes the impacts on adolescent development into 4 different levels:
Microsystem
Exosystem
Mesosystem
Macrosystem
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Two Key Questions Posed by the Ecological Model:
What is the interaction between the adolescent and their world? In order to fully understand adolescent development, we need more than developmental psychology
How do adolescents develop the ability to master their world? Concerns the task of ego development: how adolescents come to understand who they are and how they can be successful
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How Does this Compare to Other Models of Understanding Development
Psychodynamic Models: Focus on the adolescent’s behavior as a product of feelings, internal processes, developmental levels, etc.
Family Systems Models: Focus on the adolescent’s behavior as a product of family roles, history, rules, patterns, etc.
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What Do We Mean by Social Ecology?
In biological terms, ecology is a balance of forces that influence the life of an individual and the interactions between species
What skills does an ecologist need? How can we apply this to a model of social ecology?
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The Microsystem
Microsystem = parts of the adolescent’s environment that make up their immediate world: family, school, peers, religious institutions
Development follows a pathway of increasing influence from factors outside the family
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The Exosystem
Exosystem= parts of the adolescent’s environment that influence development but which the adolescent does not experience directly
Examples include parental jobs, income level, politics, etc.
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The Mesosystem
Mesosystem= connections between the adolescents immediate worlds (microsystem) and their extended world (exosystem)
Pays particular attention to the consistency of messages
Discussion question: How important is parental involvement in school issues such as homework, parent-teacher conferences, sporting events, etc.?
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The Macrosystem
Macrosystem= the values and priorities of society at-large
Examples: values such as independence, honesty, effort, competition, excellence, etc. and priorities such as educational funding, outcome-based learning assessments, pay scales for executives, etc.
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Goal II: To Develop a set of Concepts to Explain Experience and Predict How Variables Interact
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Kinds of Questions Asked by Theorists
Theoretical questions
Causal questions
Predictive questions
Impact of policy questions
Normative questions
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Becoming a Theorist….
You are already an everyday theorist when you ask:
What happens when?...
What is going on here?...
How should I respond?....
How can I make a difference?....
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Being a Skeptical Theorist
Pose the Null Hypothesis. Instead of justifying my position, ask how I could be wrong
Decide if perceived connections between variables are correlational, causational, of confounding
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Moving from Topics to Questions
What issues of the topic have been explored and what issues are perhaps not fully explored?
What questions are raised as you review what other authors have written on your topic? Are there any conflicting results?
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Developing a Governing Question
What is the main question that will guide your research?
Literature search round one: To develop possible questions
Do the publication dates tell you anything?
Do the backgrounds of the authors tell you anything? Do they seem to belong to a common field or rely on a common set of assumptions?
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Unearthing Basic Assumptions of Adolescent Development
Psychodynamic models
Attachment models
Behavioral/reinforcement models
Social Learning
Cognitive models
Neurobiological models
Affective models
Family models
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Researching Your Governing Question
Round two literature search
Thinking ahead, how do you want to tell the story, not just give results
Identify sub-questions that will help organize your paper
Use only sources that help answer your governing question
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Evaluating Your Inquiry
Is your question clearly identified for the reader?
Does your paper help the reader to develop new skills, develop a novel way to think about an issue, develop personal insights, or help the reader to think of additional questions?
Is the answer to the question you have posed clear and well-reasoned?
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Issues in the Study of Adolescent Development
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Developmental Pathways
What is normal?
Dimensional vs. categorical thinking
Equi-finality and multi-finality
Early emergence of symptoms indicates increased risk
Early intervention
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Developmental Pathway Categories
Typical development
Typical development delayed
Typical Development exaggerated
Typical development diverted
Atypical development
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Goal III: To Optimize Development
Exponential resiliency
Understanding resilience as a trait vs. relational resiliency
Protective factors
Taking off the pathology lenses
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The Role of Professionals
Sociocultural Opportunity- How can we reduce risk for teens?
What is the role of teachers and other professionals?
How can we promote resiliency in home, school, and institutional environments?
The “So What?” question: How can I make a difference?
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Ecological Questions to Consider
Is there a global warming of the social ecology?
Just as there are controversies about whether to allow wildfires to burn, there are also controversies about when and how to intervene in the lives of adolescents. How closely should teens be monitored?
What about classroom environmental management?
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Erikson’s Model of Adolescent Development
Neo-Freudians
The ego organizes experience through the lens of “Who am I?”
The ego integrates differing answers to the question “Who am I” into a semi-coherent answer
Sees development as a series of universal stages that unfold with maturation through a widening world of significant relationships
Each stage presents a challenge “crisis” that needs to be successfully mastered in order to continue maturation
Erikson has a sensitivity to cultural differences
Play in adolescent development is essential to try on new social roles and expectations
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What Promotes Maturation?
Basis trust
Autonomy
Initiative
Industry
Identity
Intimacy
Generativity
Integrity
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Challenge is a Necessary Part of Maturation
Marcia (1967)
Identity-diffused= no crisis, no commitment (clueless)
Foreclosure= commitment without challenge (unquestioning)
Moratorium = crisis but no commitment (frozen)
Identity-achieved = identity crisis leads to commitments
Question: Can life be too easy?
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Critiques of Erikson
Most of us are far less integrated than we hope. We are more often a collection of multiple identities
Mastering a stage is not an all-or-nothing outcome
Stages are a theoretical concept. They do not exist in the real world.
Maturation is not passive. Perhaps more accurate to talk about “identity creation”.
Feminist psychologists (Carol Gilligan) point out that intimacy leads to identity development and therefore should precede identity development
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