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Chapter Eight

Rites of Passage: Physical and Cognitive Development During Adolescence

Introduction

What physical and cognitive developments occur during adolescence?

What changes take place during puberty?

What is needed for optimal development during adolescence?

How do adolescents differ from children regarding their thoughts on moral issues?

8.1 Pubertal Changes

Learning Objectives

What physical changes occur during adolescence that mark the transition to a mature young adult?

What factors cause the physical changes associated with puberty?

How do physical changes affect adolescents’ psychological development?

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 1

Puberty: two types of physical changes that mark the transition from childhood to young adulthood

Bodily changes

Growth spurt

Sexual maturation

Growth of breasts or testes

Girls typically start their growth spurts at age 11 and boys at 13

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 2

Figure 8.1 Children grow steadily taller and heavier until puberty, when they experience a rapid increase known as the adolescent growth spurt.

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 3

After the adolescent growth spurt, boys generally have more strength, speed, and endurance than girls

Increased muscle mass/fat content, longer and thicker bones, and an increased heart and lung capacity

Adolescents’ brains process information more quickly than children’s

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 4

Figure 8.2 Adolescence is a vulnerable time because the reward- and pleasure-seeking centers of the brain (limbic system) mature more rapidly than the behavioral control systems (frontal cortex); the gap between the two systems is particularly great during adolescence.

Source: Casey et al., 2008, “The Adolescent Brain,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, Fig. 3, p. 116. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons.

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 5

Sexual maturation also takes place during puberty

Primary sex characteristics: physical signs of maturity directly linked to the reproductive organs

Secondary sex characteristics: physical signs of maturity not directly linked to the reproductive organs

In girls: growth of breasts and widening of the pelvis

In boys: facial hair growth and widening of shoulders

In both: body hair; changes in voice and skin

Signs of Physical Maturation, Part 6

Girls begin puberty with the growth of breasts and the growth spurt

Menarche: beginning of menstruation at around age 13

Boys begin puberty with the growth of testes and the scrotum

Spermarche: first spontaneous ejaculation of sperm-laden fluid at around age 13

Mechanisms of Maturation

What causes the physical changes that occur during puberty?

Pituitary gland releases growth hormone and signals other glands to release hormones

Genetic influences

Example: a mother’s age of menarche is related to the age her daughter will experience it

Environmental factors

Adequate nutrition and health care cause puberty to occur earlier

Menarche occurs early in girls with chronic stress

Psychological Impact of Puberty, Part 1

Young adolescents are often quite concerned about their appearance.

Psychological Impact of Puberty, Part 2

Hormones is not the primary cause of moodiness in adolescents

Instead, changes in activities and social settings

Good mood when with friends; bad mood in adult-regulated settings

Some girls and boys start puberty at an early or late age

Early maturation can be especially harmful to girls

Low self-confidence; likely to engage in risky behavior

Psychological Impact of Puberty, Part 3

Early maturation (cont’d.)

Girls who mature early are more likely to engage in sex and become pregnant as teenagers

Warm, supportive parents can help offset harmful effects of early maturation in girls

Boys tend to transition through puberty without long-lasting negative effects

Studies show mixed results regarding whether or not early maturation in boys is harmful or beneficial to their psychological well-being

Early Maturing Teens

Because children enter puberty at different ages, early-maturing teens tower over their later-maturing age-mates.

8.2 Health

Learning Objectives

What are the elements of a healthy diet for adolescents? Why do some adolescents have eating disorders?

Do adolescents get enough exercise? What are the consequences of participating in sports in high school?

What are common obstacles to healthy growth during adolescence?

Nutrition, Part 1

Average teenage girls need 2,200 calories per day; boys need 2,700

Calcium and iron are important for bone growth and hemoglobin production

Many teenagers get inadequate nutrition from fast food

Inadequate iron makes teens moody; inadequate calcium increases risk of osteoporosis in later life

Nutrition, Part 2

Obesity is a serious problem for American children and adolescents

Defined in terms of body mass index (BMI)

One of six American children/teens is overweight

Heredity factors: e.g., metabolic rate

Parents

Sedentary lifestyle

Too little sleep

Nutrition, Part 3

Overweight youngsters are often unpopular and have low self-esteem

Obesity puts them at risk for medical problems throughout their life

High blood pressure

Diabetes

Nutrition, Part 4

Obese children can lose weight by changing eating habits and exercising

Prevention is key to avoiding lifelong weight problems

Teenage girls tend to worry about their weight and try diets/diet pills

Potentially dangerous and can lead to anorexia or bulimia

Nutrition, Part 5

Anorexia nervosa: a persistent refusal to eat along with an irrational fear of gaining weight

Often leads to heart damage

Without treatment, 15% of adolescents die

Bulimia nervosa: a disease in which people alternate between binge eating and purging by means of laxatives or self-induced vomiting

Frequency of bingeing varies from person to person

Nutrition, Part 6

What are the risk factors related to girls developing an eating disorder?

Heredity, low self-esteem, mood/anxiety disorders

Main factor: peers and the media

Having friends who diet and being overly immersed in a culture that emphasizes female attractiveness

Boys make up 10% of documented eating disorder cases

Risk factors: low self-esteem, childhood obesity, and pressure from parents to lose weight

Nutrition, Part 7

Programs for at-risk youth can protect teens from eating disorders

Teach them to resist social pressure and change attitudes and behaviors

Treatment is critical for teens diagnosed with an eating disorder

Physical Fitness, Part 1

30 minutes of exercise at least three times a week reduces the risk of obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and psychological problems

Many adolescents get physical activity through organized sports

Benefits of participating in sports:

Self-esteem, learn initiative, and builds social skills

Physical Fitness, Part 2

Approx. 15% of high school athletes sustain injuries, mostly minor

Approx. 2% of high school athletes use anabolic steroids

Causes damage to the liver and other organs

Associated with mood swings, depression, and aggression

Threats to Adolescent Well-Being, Part 1

Every year, approximately 1 U.S. adolescent out of 1,000 dies

Boys – accidents involving motor vehicles or firearms

Girls – natural causes or accidents involving motor vehicles

Threats to Adolescent Well-Being, Part 2

Adolescents take risks that adults often find unacceptable

Compared to adults, adolescents find the rewards associated with risky behavior far more appealing

8.3 Information Processing During Adolescence

Learning Objectives

How do working memory and processing speed change during adolescence?

How do increases in content knowledge, strategies, and metacognitive skills influence adolescent cognition?

What changes in problem solving and reasoning take place in adolescents?

Working Memory and Processing Speed

Working memory and processing speed capacities increase during adolescence

Figure 8.4 Response time declines steadily during childhood and reaches adultlike levels during middle adolescence.

Content Knowledge, Strategies, and Metacognitive Skill, Part 1

Increased content knowledge allows adolescents to improve their understanding and memory

Adolescents often have adultlike skills in some domains, such as using cell phones, which allows them to teach adults.

Content Knowledge, Strategies, and Metacognitive Skill, Part 2

Increased knowledge also allows adolescents to identify learning strategies that are and are not working

Examples: making list, outlining reading material, etc.

Improves memory and makes learning more effective

Problem Solving and Reasoning, Part 1

Adolescents are more sophisticated in their problem solving than children

Children use heuristics; adolescents use analytical problem solving

Analytical problem solving relies on statistical information

What might a 15-year-old consider before deciding on a bike to buy?

Adolescents are skilled at analyzing arguments and finding the flaws in them

Problem Solving and Reasoning, Part 2

Adolescents are less likely to use strategies that threaten their own beliefs

Example: refuse to listen to evidence that their curfew is a good idea

■TABLE 8.1 Information Processing During Adolescence

Feature	State
Working memory and processing speed	Adolescents have adult like working memory capacity and processing speed, enabling them to process information efficiently.
Content knowledge	Adolescents’ greater knowledge of the world facilitates understanding and memory of new experiences.
Strategies and metacognition	Adolescents are better able to identify task-appropriate strategies and to monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.
Problem solving and reasoning	Adolescents often solve problems analytically by relying on mathematics or logic, and they are able to detect weaknesses in scientific evidence and logical arguments.

8.4 Reasoning About Moral Issues, Part 1

Learning Objectives

How do adolescents reason about moral issues?

How do concern for justice and caring for other people contribute to moral reasoning?

Reasoning About Moral Issues, Part 2

Teenagers act in diverse ways

Some commit terrible crimes; others risk their lives for others

Why are teens capable of such opposite actions?

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning, Part 1

Three levels of moral reasoning:

Preconventional level: based on external factors

Stage 1: involves obedience orientation (believing that authority figures know what is right and wrong)

Stage 2: use of instrumental orientation (looking out for one’s own needs)

Conventional level: look to society’s norms

Stage 3: based on interpersonal norms (aiming to gain the approval of other people by being “good”)

Stage 4: reasoning focuses on social system morality (maintaining order in society)

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning, Part 2

Postconventional level: reasoning is based on a personal moral code

Stage 5: reasoning is based on a social contract: laws should exist for the good of the people; if they no longer promote people’s welfare, they become invalid

Stage 6: abstract principles (e.g., compassion, justice, and equality) form a person’s social code

Usually takes many years to progress through the stages

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning, Part 4

Kohlberg believed that people progress through all stages in order without skipping any

Younger adolescents tend to act morally only if external forces pressure them to

Critics of Kohlberg’s theory say that that it is not representative of different cultures

Example: Hindu children would encourage Heinz to steal the drugs due to their religion’s emphasis on serving others

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning, Part 5

Teenagers who engage in moral behavior, such as participating in protest marches, often reason at high levels in Kohlberg’s theory.

Beyond Kohlberg’s Theory, Part 1

Does Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning apply to males more than females?

According to Carol Gilligan, yes

Females have an “ethic of care” and males focus on justice

In actuality, males and females reason about morality in similar ways

Justice and caring come into play depending on the nature of the moral dilemma and the context

Beyond Kohlberg’s Theory, Part 2

According to Gilligan, moral reasoning is driven by the need to care for others.