1. Psyc311 Developmental Dr. Wright
Adolescence
Psyc311 Developmental
Dr. Wright

2. definition of puberty Pubertas – Latin word for “adult”
Narrow definition: The process by which an individual becomes capable of reproduction.
The activation of the HPG/HPA axis
Broad definition: The physical, psychological, and cultural changes that occur as the growing child transitions into adulthood.

3. time periods of adolescent
Adolescence is a unique developmental period
it keeps changing!
Early adolescence – 11 to 13 years old
Continues to be pushed earlier (9-10…)
Middle adolescence – 14 to 17 years old
Late adolescence (early adulthood) – 18 to 20 years old
Continues to be pushed later (21-24…)

4. physical changes… Primary sex characteristics
The body organs and reproductive structures and functions that differ between women and men.
Gonads (testes and ovaries)
Secondary sex characteristics
Characteristics of the body that are caused by hormones, develop during puberty, and last through adult life.
Changes in genitals/breasts/voice
Pubic/body/facial hair

5. Tanner Stages

6. Tanner Stages

7. changes… Rapid acceleration of physical growth
Adolescent growth spurt
3.5 (girls) to 4.0 (boys) inches/year
½ adult weight gained during adolescence
Changes in body composition
3:1 muscle to body fat ratio for boys
5:4 for girls
Emergence of sex differences in physical performance
Changes in circulatory and respiratory systems
Increase in size/capacity of heart and lungs

10. two roles of hormones Organizational role (life-long):
Modification of the organism early in life
primarily influencing its anatomy
Organization/structure of CNS
“Feminine” vs. “masculan-ized” brain and body
Activational role (specific to puberty):
Structural “remodeling” of brain
Increase in salience of sexual stimuli, sexual motivation
Development of secondary sex characteristics

11. hormone regulatory systems
Endocrine system
HPA axis
Hypothalamus  Pituitary gland  Adrenals
Corticosteroids
Regulates body’s response to stress
HPG axis
Hypothalamus  Pituitary gland  Gonads (Testes/Ovaries)
Sex Hormones (Androgens/Estrogens)
Regulates sexual maturation

13. The hormonal changes brought on by puberty can affect the adolescent’s behavior in at least three ways.
Biological changes affect behavior – Figure 1.9 of the textbook.
Example for Purple squares: Increases in testosterone  increase in boys’ sex drive and sexual activity.
Example for Blue squares: Self-image changes because his body has changed, changes in how he behaves in that boy seeks privacy while bathing.
Example for Orange squares: As her body changes a girl gets attention from older boys that previously didn’t notice her changes in how she behaves in terms of all the extra attention.
Pages 38 and 39 of the textbook.

14. impacts of puberty Sleep patterns Family relations Peer relations
Delayed phase preference
9 hours: 1 am to 10 am
Family relations
Transformation of parent-child bond
Peer relations
Transformation of friendships, romantic relationships

15. impacts of puberty Self-esteem Moods Changing body image
Changing sense of self
Moods
Increased stress + Increased sensitivity
Fluctuation of moods
Due to hormones or environment?
“Storm and stress”: myth or fact?

16. moods

17. timing - individual factors
Genetic factors
Timing and tempo
Environmental factors
Nutrition
Body weight
Exposure to hormones/chemicals
Family conflict
Stepfathers

18. timing - group factors Comparisons Across socioeconomic groups
Impact of poverty
Dietary intake, health care, exposure to disease
Across countries
Impact of industrialization
Across time periods
Secular trend

21. early maturation Boys Girls Early maturation positives
Popularity, higher self-esteem
Early maturation negatives
Deviant, risk behaviors; more rigidity later
Girls
Popularity (cultural dependence)
Lower self-esteem, eating disorders, emotions, deviant behaviors

22. late maturation Boys Girls Late maturation positives
Higher levels of creativity, inventiveness
Late maturation negatives
Low self-esteem, low social competence
Girls
Thinner build
Social withdrawal

23. the second wave…. Longitudinal fMRI studies reveal:
Period of rapid synaptogenesis and pruning
Increased myelination (back to front)
Opportunity for massive cognitive growth and learning
Shift into Piaget’s formal operations

24. Among the most important changes to take place in the adolescence brain are those in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system.
Figure 2.1, page 79

25. (pre) frontal development
Final development of executive function
Planning/problem-solving
Impulse control
Seat of “sober 2nd thought”
Full maturation – sometime between adolescence and early adulthood
Coincides with child-onset schizophrenia
Failure in executive functioning

26. heightened arousal Increased hormone activity
estrogen & testosterone
Sexual stimulation
Social status conflict
Increased neurotransmitter activity
heightened emotional sensitivity/reactivity
Limbic system (norepinephrine)
increased risk, stimulation-seeking behaviors
Punishment/reward system (dopamine)
increased fluctuations in mood
Serotonin

27. timing of brain maturation
Limbic system matures early in puberty
Prefrontal cortex matures several years later
Heightened need for reward/stimulation
leads to increased risk-taking, stimulation-seeking behaviors
Higher level of emotional volatility
Underdeveloped “sober” assessment of risks
Increased cognitive/social demands
Creates cognitive overload
Difficulty with impulse control

28. timing of brain maturation
Time gap may explain why adolescence is a period of heightened experimentation with risky behaviors.
Increased risk of
violence/criminal activity
kids under 18 account for 25 of violent crime in US
drug & alcohol experimentation
unsafe sexual activities
It is like “starting the engines with an unskilled driver”. Page 79

29. conduct problems
Adolescents whose prefrontal cortical development is less mature than normal are even more likely to have conduct problems.
Populations most at risk?
Page 78

30. teen pregnancy

31. teen pregnancy in US
,000 teens between years old become pregnant every year.
2/3rds between years old.
25,000 under 15 years old.
African American teens have highest rate
134/1,000 vs. 48/1,1000 Caucasian teenagers
57% end in birth (11% of all births in US)
14% end in miscarriage
29% end in abortion
82% of those pregnancies were unintended
86% of teen mothers remain unmarried
35% have a 2nd child within two years

33. risk factors Physical Sexual maturation Brain development
4-5 years before psychological/emotional maturation
Becoming longer as puberty starts earlier
Brain development
Heightened activation of limbic system
Increased attraction to risky behaviors
Pre-frontal development incomplete

34. Why is teenage pregnancy higher in the US?

35. consequences SES factors Less opportunity for education
50% of pregnancies occur in most impoverished populations
Less opportunity for education
Less access to birth control
Reduced internal locus of control
Exposure to other risk factors
drugs, alcohol, abuse, lack of parental monitoring
Desire for family/stability

36. consequences Should we be concerned about this? For teenage parents
mother in particular
For baby
For families
For community
Methods of prevention?

38. adolescent substance use
Have tried, by grade 10:
cigarettes – 40%
alcohol – 63%
illegal drugs – 38%
By end of high school:
17% smoke regularly
28% recent heavy drinking
40%+ tried illegal drugs
Please insert Figure Tenth-grade students in the United States and Europe who have used various substances.
Figure 11.7 38

40. impact of substance abuse
Alcohol/drug abuse
Greater potential impairment in learning
More widespread brain damage
Repeated exposure may effect path and quality of development
Due to reduction in plasticity, this damage cannot be corrected later!
So, does this mean all experimentation with drugs/alcohol bad?

41. adolescent substance abusers
Compared to experimenters:
more antisocial, impulsive acts
start earlier
more likely to be affected by
genetic and environmental factors
low SES
family drug use
family difficulties
physical, sexual abuse
poor school performance 41

43. Should we be worried about exposure to graphic violence through media?
Why or why not?
What reasons might we have for thinking adolescents are particularly vulnerable to aggression/violence?

44. social implications
What should the social attitudes be about adolescent exposure to and involvement in high-stimulation/high-risk activities?
Sexual Activity
Drugs & Alcohol
Violence

45. identity development Adolescence  Erickson stage of identity crisis
Sense of individual self
Selection of commitments, beliefs, values
Interpersonal process
Taking their place in the adult community

46. cognitive changes Importance of conceptual structure of thinking
Propositional logic: thinking constrained by logical relations
Emphasis on rationality and scientific methodology
Importance of conceptual resources employed in thinking
Five process: Attention, working memory, processing speed, organization, meta-cognition

47. cognitive changes Piaget’s – Formal Operational Thought
Logical, abstract thinking
Thinking about possibilities
“If-then” thinking
Connection between how things are and how they might have been or could be.
Thinking about thinking
Understanding knowledge (how/when gained)
Monitoring one’s own mental states

48. relativism Not everything is “black and white”
Recognition of importance of perspective
Death of childish “realism/absolutism”
Can result in extreme skepticism
Rejection of authority
Rejection of cultural/social norms
Everything is “ok” – no right/wrong
Tolerance for different beliefs
Though less tolerance for actual interaction/helping

49. adolescent egocentrism
Increased introspection, self-consciousness, rationalization
Responsible for adolescent version of egocentrism.
Imaginary audience
Personal fable
Importance of personal individuality

50. Crisis never begins: diffusion
Crisis begins –> ends with foreclosure
Crisis begins –> ends with achievement
Psychosocial moratorium
Period of exploration
Importance in contemporary society?

51. What are some of the grounds of identity?
Gender
Ethnicity/culture
Age group
Vocation
Political ideology
Religious/moral values

52. What is gender identity? Adolescence – adulthood
Function of gender roles
Adolescence – adulthood
Gender intensification
Social/cultural pressures
Peer pressures
Parental pressures
Biological pressures

53. What is ethnic identity?
Identification
Physical/psychological characteristics
Cultural practices/beliefs
Racial socialization
Majority vs. minority status
Dislocation from native lands
Cultural heritage
Positive vs. negative identity
Assimilation vs. marginality
Bi-culturalism

54. Vocational identity Religious identity Age identity
Aspect of identity associated with career.
Being a lawyer
Being a janitor
Religious identity
Aspect of identity associated with religious belief system.
Being a Christian or Buddhist
Being an atheist
Age identity
Aspects of identity associated with age group.
Being a teenager
Being an elderly person

55. Identity and stereotypes
Identities commonly incorporate/activate stereotypes
Common characteristics associated with
Being female
Being Native American
Being a plumber
Being a liberal
Some characteristics positive, others negative.
Stereotype activation makes these characteristics salient.
This can have incredibly powerful effects on behavior.

56. Gender and ethnicity stereotypes When gender made salient
Influence on academic performance
When gender made salient
Females under-perform on math exams
When ethnicity made salient
Blacks under-perform on academic tests
Whites over-perform on academic tests
Can be activated by something as simple as asking ethnicity on demographic form!

59. Clash of multiple identities Asian females
Baseline math performance
When gender made salient, perform less well
When ethnicity made salient, perform better

61. Other effects
When primed with racial stereotypes people were more likely to perceive a power tool as a gun.
People primed with elderly stereotype will perceive hills to be steeper and distances longer.
People primed with stereotype of obesity perceived people to be less intelligent, more lazy.
Priming with gender influences perception of artistic pieces and writing.
Priming of identity stereotypes facilitate specific interpretations of behavior.

62. Positive identity stereotypes create “uplift”
Negative identity stereotypes create “threat”
A person can have a mixture of both in their identity.
Subtle and powerful influence of our identity on our perception, attitudes, and behaviors.